In the last couple of days we have looked at this Christian life from a couple of different perspectives. First that there are no shortcuts and secondly that we have to give attention to this journey or we will suffer from the results of neglect. This all applies to our roles as husbands and fathers as well. It begins to appear that this is requiring much of us as men. This is not presented to us as a hobby that we can play at or engage in on a periodic basis. No, it is all consuming. Paul describes it as a living sacrifice in Romans 12:1. Christ used the term abide to describe it in John 15:1 – 16.
So that begins to beg some questions. What are my alternatives? Is this really worth it? What time I invest in my own study, in talking to my kids about the Lord, in nurturing my wife’s walk with God, by definition is time that cannot be invested in my career or personal interests. It is time invested for which, in a lot of cases, I cannot see any immediate or midterm result. Further, those who follow Christ are not depicted in the Bible as having an easy time of it. Read over Hebrews 11 again especially 36 – 37. We are promised difficulty, actually persecution (Luke 21:12; Mark 10:30; John 15:30; Luke 11:49). So the question becomes why would anyone sign up for all of this?
I will share some thoughts on this tomorrow. What do you think?
So that begins to beg some questions. What are my alternatives? Is this really worth it? What time I invest in my own study, in talking to my kids about the Lord, in nurturing my wife’s walk with God, by definition is time that cannot be invested in my career or personal interests. It is time invested for which, in a lot of cases, I cannot see any immediate or midterm result. Further, those who follow Christ are not depicted in the Bible as having an easy time of it. Read over Hebrews 11 again especially 36 – 37. We are promised difficulty, actually persecution (Luke 21:12; Mark 10:30; John 15:30; Luke 11:49). So the question becomes why would anyone sign up for all of this?
I will share some thoughts on this tomorrow. What do you think?
We often run out of hope. God gives us that hope, along with some promises that he will walk with us. He also promises in I Corinthians 10:13 that he will not give us more than we can bear. Here is an observation from a pastor I found back in 2008.
ReplyDelete- -It does not imply that God won’t let you be stressed beyond what you can bear. Or challenged beyond your ability. Or pushed beyond your threshold. In reality, God gives you more than you can bear all the time. On purpose.
It’s only when you can’t bear the load that the strength of Christ kicks in…
and He becomes everything you need and more.