All in Christian
Do we thirst after the water of the world that satisfies our body alone, and that must be replenished each day, or do we long for the living water that is Jesus Christ, and wells up in us for eternity? Which do we cater to, and place most value in, our earthly body that begins a journey towards death from the moment it is conceived, or our soul that will live on in either salvation or damnation forever?
How content are we in our spiritual lives? Are we satisfied with what the Lord provides us, or do we approach our faith like we do our earthly labor; driven by dissatisfaction, and an unending need for more? If we climb mountains isn’t there always another peak to summit, or if we are a fisherman isn’t there one more cast of our net to make? Yet as believers, we should be happy with where God is taking us, and content with His daily provision... our lives should be lived peacefully each day in the presence of God.
When we first hear God calling us to follow Jesus Christ, or later as Christians to do His will, and we ignore Him... do we think that He just goes away and that this is the end of it? Sometimes we attempt to treat God as if He were one of our fantasies, and if we ignore Him then He will vanish, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even in our faithlessness, our disobedience, or when we turn our back on Him... He is there, and He remains God.
Just as we pray for our physical wellbeing, we should also pray for our hearts, minds, and souls. It is so easy to concentrate on the outward pains and the worldly needs of our physical selves, but the worst of all pain emanates from our heart, and our spirit; they are born of a damaged faith. They well up in us from an aching deep within our soul. We see the wounds made to our flesh, but is our soul bleeding, and suffering today?
Our lives are ever changing, and no matter how hard we try to control them they will always be set upon by outside forces beyond our control. Not even the sweetest times of faith go without looking up to find a looming challenge on the horizon, because as we experience life we lean on God in various new ways, and through this we come to a fresh understanding of Him in the process. How well we know God seems to depend on how fully we have lived our life.
Are there those we know who were called by God, and stood before Jesus to profess their faith, just as we did, but have since fallen away? Well, how do we treat them? Do we shun them, look down on them, and make them to feel unwelcome in our midst? Do we judge them, and stand firmly between them and God at the moment they might desire to reconcile themselves? Do we feel that we are the guardians of the sanctuary, and defenders of God Himself? Woe to us who keeps one of God’s children from Him.
We read the Bible, and study God’s Word, but is doing so a joy? Reading the Bible can be a daunting task because, depending on the translation, the language can be challenging, the meaning behind certain passages (such as parables and stories) can be difficult to interpret, and quite honestly there are lists, and long genealogies, in the Bible that put many readers off. Let’s be truthful... reading the Bible is not as entertaining as reading “The Arabian Nights”, or “Aesop’s Fables”, but no other book can have such an impact on who we are, thrill us with its revelations, or save our souls. The joy comes when we open our hearts, minds, and souls, to God through His Word.
Do we think of ourselves as a worthy treasure to be presented to God? Are we inclined to consider that we are like gold, silver, or fine jewels that He is eager to have refined, cut, or molded, and placed in His treasure chest, to be displayed with pride? Well, God does value us, and he does refine us, but not as we might think, He doesn’t purify us simply by education, works, or charm school, but in the furnace of our affliction. The spiritual worthiness that He sees in us is like a faint line of gold in a predominately dark stone... and we must be crushed into submission before it can be released, and purified.
We say that Jesus abides in us, and we in Him. We also say that He abides In the Father, and the Father in Him. Believing these statements to be scripturally true, and claiming them for ourselves, then we must also believe that the scripture which says that God is light, and in Him is no darkness is truth too. So, the first statements tell us that by abiding in Jesus we too abide in the light of God, and that He is in us as well, but where will our continued sinning leave us? Do these jaunts into the darkness separate us from God? Are we choosing our humanity over our spiritually transformed selves; darkness over light?
Are we working in unison with the Holy Spirit within us as he washes, transforms, and renews us, or do our human frailties cling to the sins of the old man, and slow to a crawl, or stop, our regeneration? Are we cheerful learners, or do we reluctantly bend to the will of God as His Spirit scrubs us clean?
As people of varying degrees of spirituality we have different prayer habits. Some of us come to God many times a day, some come only in the morning, others in the evening, and there are those who only pray on days like Christmas and Easter, but rest assured we all find time to pray when we are in need, or hurting. So which is right? Well, there is no wrong prayer, but scripture tells us to pray without ceasing, because God loves us and desires us to be with Him just as He is with us... always.
Are we content with what God gives us? You might think that I am speaking of physical provision, but this question applies equally to spiritual gifts. Do we look at what others have and envy them? Well, in many instances, having much can be a curse, leading to discontent, a lust for more, and the sin of worshipping other gods. It is best that we have little, and to be satisfied with what we have, than to have much and worship those things as we work to have more of them.
Are we holding firm to our faith in Jesus Christ as the world boils and evil seeks to destroy the peace and rest of God in us? In the midst of the world’s darkness that is stirring strife, even from the pulpits, there shines forth a light, and in that light we find not only our life, but the light which is the life of the world... Jesus. He is unlike every lamp, or torch, because He can’t be extinguished, not by deception, lies, or any other sin. He has defeated these through His own life, death, and resurrection, and His brightness lights our way as we navigate the darkness of the fallen world, even death, that surrounds us.
When we are in a serious dilemma do we find ourselves doubting in God’s ability to help us? When we are surrounded on all sides by a horde who would harm, or destroy us, do we feel lost? Well, fear not because our God is more than capable, and it is our own disbelief that prevents us from from seeing Him clearly, and witnessing His heavenly host that surrounds us... too numerous to count.
We go through our day working hard to secure those things that will sustain us, but as we complete today’s chores we often forget the one who has made this possible, and who actually provides for us. Over the course of time we tend to forget who gave us the skills we now employ, or even the breath we breathe, and we claim our efforts as our own. Our faith is like a cathedral that is still under construction after hundreds of years; the amazing foundation stones given by God when the ground was first broken are long forgotten, and only what has just been added is praised. The Lord provides for His children now as He gives us every good thing... building today on the blessings of yesterday.