Its something we have all heard, and know deep down. That God is the only thing that will satisfy our souls; we are made to enjoy him for eternity.
But a lot of times I don't feel satisfied. As Bilbo said in Lord of the Rings when talking about the affect that the ring has had on him, "I feel like butter scraped over too much bread." Maybe this is just a season that I am going through. Maybe its because the holidays just ended. But there are troughs in life that I go through periodically when I wonder if there isn't something more.
Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for my life and happy with how it is going. But even during the highest of highs, underneath it all I wonder "is this real life"?
Recently I have come to the realization of what (I think) real, true life is. True life is not any accomplishment, any notch on our belt or list of things we've done on our "life resume". True life is in fact only experienced through things you've done that you have done without the purpose behind those actions having anything to do with benefiting yourself.
It is life lived for others, not for yourself. If we focus our eyes on how we can help others get ahead rather than ourselves we will begin to experience life from Jesus' perspective. The ironic thing is, we finally are alive when we are least concerned about living! Matthew 16:25 says-
"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."
A lot of the time I am seeking some new experience, something that will lead to the ideal "American Dream" that looks so good on paper but ends up leaving us void. Not that its a bad thing if that's what your life looks like (because mine does) but that should not be what you are seeking. Matthew 6:33 says-
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
It all comes down to the reasons that you do things. Andy Stanley said it another way with "true purpose is found just across the street from what you can get out of it". If we let the wellbeing and cares of others be the driving force of our livelihoods, we will begin to experience the divine. And that is a real, true life that will deeply satisfy.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Loving and Obeying God
Love can mean a lot of different things depending on who you talk to. Fortunately God is pretty explicit on the topic. According to him, love is not an emotion but an action. 1 John 5:3 states-
"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome."
OK so I feel like the bible has a lot of different commands. And are we really expected to keep all of them? Sounds a little daunting. And how am I supposed to remember all of them? Hebrews 10:16 says:
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."
So does this mean we just need to follow our conscience? If we believe that Jesus is the son of god, then we have the holy spirit who leads us into all truths. But I know at times I've felt things that I thought were of God, but found out later they couldn't have been because they opposed different parts of scripture. So to be sure I would recommend to always go to the word when trying to discern what is right. And talk to people about it. The more you do this and attempt to abide in Christ, the better you will become- its like exercise! So start small, and be persistent.
C.S. Lewis comments on this in his book Screwtape Letters. If you are unfamiliar with the book, the premise is one demon advising a younger demon on ways to tempt its human patient. The older demon writing to the younger demon (Wormwood) says the following:
“My dear Wormwood, the most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion. No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of ‘grace’ for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation! This is very bad.”
God says it in a different way in Matthew 6:34-
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome."
OK so I feel like the bible has a lot of different commands. And are we really expected to keep all of them? Sounds a little daunting. And how am I supposed to remember all of them? Hebrews 10:16 says:
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."
So does this mean we just need to follow our conscience? If we believe that Jesus is the son of god, then we have the holy spirit who leads us into all truths. But I know at times I've felt things that I thought were of God, but found out later they couldn't have been because they opposed different parts of scripture. So to be sure I would recommend to always go to the word when trying to discern what is right. And talk to people about it. The more you do this and attempt to abide in Christ, the better you will become- its like exercise! So start small, and be persistent.
C.S. Lewis comments on this in his book Screwtape Letters. If you are unfamiliar with the book, the premise is one demon advising a younger demon on ways to tempt its human patient. The older demon writing to the younger demon (Wormwood) says the following:
“My dear Wormwood, the most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion. No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of ‘grace’ for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly pittance to meet the daily and hourly temptation! This is very bad.”
God says it in a different way in Matthew 6:34-
"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Each day we are faced with enough sin that we should just concentrate on overcoming what we are currently facing. And you can do this by trusting in God, who will guide us from temptation and set us free from sin. He will give us the power to obey. And that's the purpose of Jesus going through agonizing pain via the crucifixion, right? Not just to wipe away our sins and give us salvation, but to purify us and allow us to live free from sin! God has given us the power to overcome sin, we just have to choose to obey. We have to choose to love God.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
New Year's Resolution
I don't know about you, but I've never been one to make a New Year's Resolution. Every year there seems to be so much hype, but is anyone ever still following their resolution after three months? One Month? One week? I really don't see much of a point in making a resolution if you can not realistically stick to it. What's the point of setting a goal for yourself if it in all likelihood will not last 1/12 of the intended timeframe? If a made a resolution, I would want to keep it for the whole year rather than just a couple months. I am looking for lasting change, not something temporary.
Are people not able to keep their resolutions because they set the bar too high, or is it because they get distracted from other things in life and just forget about it? Or maybe we are choosing resolutions that we don't really desire to keep. We are making the resolutions for the wrong reasons, and how could we expect to achieve something if we are not really committed to it in our heart?
I watched a sermon today on New Year's Resolutions, so my mind has been on the whole idea. The pastor's main message was that most of our Resolutions are based on ourselves- lose X amount of weight, get out of debt, etc. etc. What we should do instead is to make a resolution not based on ourselves but on others. By putting the emphasis on doing something for other people, you now have a purpose which is a driving force for action. Yes, it would be great to lose some weight, but if I end up not losing any weight, no big deal, there are no external consequences that negatively affect others. But if the consequences of our resolutions weigh heavily on others, we are now accountable to those people who will not gain the good we have to offer them if we fall short! We are expanding our mindset from within to without. We are beginning to see things from God's point of view!
Phillipians 2:3 states "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."
By making our purposes for others we begin to make a mental shift in our motivations for why we do things. And isn't that what it's all about? Jesus' whole ministry was based on the compassion he had for other people through serving them. Can you think of a single time where Jesus did something to satisfy his own selfish desires?
My resolution has been to start this blog. But if there is not a compelling force behind that resolution, I don't see it lasting much more than a month. If I consider that my blog might be able to help someone by motivating them in a positive way, I have a purpose that is outside of myself. It is no longer about likes, popularity, or money made for myself, but how my posts could affect the readers. My purpose has changed, which I'm hoping is the real solution to keeping our New Year's Resolution. Make your purposes about others, and real, permanent change will begin to take place.
Are people not able to keep their resolutions because they set the bar too high, or is it because they get distracted from other things in life and just forget about it? Or maybe we are choosing resolutions that we don't really desire to keep. We are making the resolutions for the wrong reasons, and how could we expect to achieve something if we are not really committed to it in our heart?
I watched a sermon today on New Year's Resolutions, so my mind has been on the whole idea. The pastor's main message was that most of our Resolutions are based on ourselves- lose X amount of weight, get out of debt, etc. etc. What we should do instead is to make a resolution not based on ourselves but on others. By putting the emphasis on doing something for other people, you now have a purpose which is a driving force for action. Yes, it would be great to lose some weight, but if I end up not losing any weight, no big deal, there are no external consequences that negatively affect others. But if the consequences of our resolutions weigh heavily on others, we are now accountable to those people who will not gain the good we have to offer them if we fall short! We are expanding our mindset from within to without. We are beginning to see things from God's point of view!
Phillipians 2:3 states "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves."
By making our purposes for others we begin to make a mental shift in our motivations for why we do things. And isn't that what it's all about? Jesus' whole ministry was based on the compassion he had for other people through serving them. Can you think of a single time where Jesus did something to satisfy his own selfish desires?
My resolution has been to start this blog. But if there is not a compelling force behind that resolution, I don't see it lasting much more than a month. If I consider that my blog might be able to help someone by motivating them in a positive way, I have a purpose that is outside of myself. It is no longer about likes, popularity, or money made for myself, but how my posts could affect the readers. My purpose has changed, which I'm hoping is the real solution to keeping our New Year's Resolution. Make your purposes about others, and real, permanent change will begin to take place.
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