Lamentations 3:24 was in my reading project this morning. I was stunned by the first phrase of the verse (hold on I will get to the title in a moment). Jeremiah, whose life was constantly challenged, threatened, contradicted, and ignored, said his portion was the Lord. Not his reputation, not his role as a prophet, not his wealth, not people believing what he said, and not even his life. His portion was the Lord.
He put the Lord ahead of all else in his life. He valued the Lord more than anything else. This attitude was and Old Testament embodiment of Matthew 6:33.
How does that tie into the picture?
A day or so ago I was listening to Rush Limbaugh driving between appointments. He was comparing Kaepernick and Tebow (scroll down to the picture of Tebow and read that paragraph if you do not want to read the whole thing). He acknowledged that they were opposites in their motivation. Rush pointed out that both of their choices had consequences. They are free to make the choice, but the choice they make has implications. His evaluation was that no NFL team would want either of them because of the circus, the chaos that they created by their actions. He quoted Football hall of famer, Jim Brown, as saying about Kaepernick, “He needs to decide if he is going to be a football player or an activist.”
We have a choice as well, are we going to be Christian or join the team, the world. Is the Lord our portion, our life or are we compromising our walk with God to fit into this world.
Is my portion my family, my wealth (or pursuit thereof), my job, my reputation, my ministry, the regard with which others hold me, or is my portion, as with Jeremiah, the Lord.
My immediate response was, “Well I have to live here! We have to eat, pay bills, educate our children…” Matthew 6:33 is the culmination, the last verse of Matthew 6:25 – 33. Jesus tells us that we are not to worry about those questions. We are to trust Him and seek His Kingdom first.
On a minute by minute basis, the world fights against this. It never tires of working to squeeze us into its mold.
Both Jesus and Paul (Romans 12:1 – 2) tell us to resist.
How does that tie into the picture?
A day or so ago I was listening to Rush Limbaugh driving between appointments. He was comparing Kaepernick and Tebow (scroll down to the picture of Tebow and read that paragraph if you do not want to read the whole thing). He acknowledged that they were opposites in their motivation. Rush pointed out that both of their choices had consequences. They are free to make the choice, but the choice they make has implications. His evaluation was that no NFL team would want either of them because of the circus, the chaos that they created by their actions. He quoted Football hall of famer, Jim Brown, as saying about Kaepernick, “He needs to decide if he is going to be a football player or an activist.”
The quote stuck. I thought about Tebow’s stand, Rush called him “a born-again proselytizing Christian,” which is an apt description. Thinking through this I was struck by the parallel to our lives as believers in a world that is hostile to Christianity.
We have a choice as well, are we going to be Christian or join the team, the world. Is the Lord our portion, our life or are we compromising our walk with God to fit into this world.
Is my portion my family, my wealth (or pursuit thereof), my job, my reputation, my ministry, the regard with which others hold me, or is my portion, as with Jeremiah, the Lord.
My immediate response was, “Well I have to live here! We have to eat, pay bills, educate our children…” Matthew 6:33 is the culmination, the last verse of Matthew 6:25 – 33. Jesus tells us that we are not to worry about those questions. We are to trust Him and seek His Kingdom first.
On a minute by minute basis, the world fights against this. It never tires of working to squeeze us into its mold.
Both Jesus and Paul (Romans 12:1 – 2) tell us to resist.
This was also true of the Apostle Paul, and Abraham (father of our faith), Joseph, Moses, Daniel.... Hebrews 11 is an challenging read in this topic.
ReplyDeleteI've become aware through some significant disruptions in my life over the last three years, especially the entrance of my wife into her longed for presence with her Lord, that I have developed a strong longing for some sense of stability in my life.
Your post reminds me that there is no stability here. I have no home and although I have a nice place to live it will never, nor will any other spot on earth, be home. That will be in the world to come.