I have always been so grateful for everything my mom ever was and did for our family. I have been so impressed with how she would sacrifice everything she wanted or needed to make sure everyone else, even outside the family, had what they desired. I have always hoped that I would eventually be the same kind of mom mine has been.
The past few days I have become even more thankful for all my mom did because God is giving me the grace to understand and experience what it feels like to have a sort of "motherly" burden for those I love. A lot of people hear that and say, "Oh, so you're that overbearing friend who always makes sure people are following the rules and put a damper on the fun." No. That was never how my mom was, and that's not how I am either.
Look at it from the perspective of a parent for a second. God, as our Heavenly Father, loves us so extremely much that He does literally everything He can to be sure that we are more than taken care of. Because He loves us this way, we never have to feel like we don't have enough; but He also, then, wants us to be able to experience what is best for us, even if in the process there's a little pain or hardship along the way.
That is the sort of burden He is allowing me to experience for certain people in my life right now. I love them so much and just want everything in their lives to be perfect, according to God's will. He wants us to live abundantly (with way more than enough love, joy, peace, money, food, etc.). As a part of this desire to see people living to their utmost, God is beginning to remind me what it is like to have a burden of prayer for others again - something I haven't experienced really since my days at MCA. Every moment of the day I want to just be in His presence and praying for these people that I know haven't experienced Him to the extent that they could. It's called intercession, where your spirit literally cries out to God for that of another person whom you deeply love. I am seriously craving this constantly right now, and I thank God that He is allowing me to be that person for these friends and classmates of mine.
While I know that I can only do so much in helping them make the right choices and keep themselves healthy in mind, body, and spirit, I know that the Lord can do mighty things when even one or two people have just a small amount of faith. In the same way, then, I am believing and excited to see what God does through this new experience He is allowing me to have. While it's a slow and painful process, and I often wish I could just make people listen and do what God says is best, I know that's not how God intends it to be and I just have to wait on His timing to perfect what is broken or stained.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
A Living Sacrifice
Many Christians are familiar with Romans 12:1-2 where Paul talks about letting your life be a living sacrifice for the glory of God. It is one of those ideas that is commonly talked about when pastors discuss the need for us to choose pure actions. But lately I've been looking at another side of sacrificial living that Paul brings up in Philippians 2:12-18. In my Bible this section is titled "Lights in the World" which then begs the question: Is there more to sacrificial living than just to live a pure life the way God intends?
My answer is yes. This kind of hit me with one of those "mindblown" effects. Verse 13 talks about how God works in us to cause us to gain His will and do His work. But right after that is another very familiar verse, often taught on but not within the context that it is found. It reads: v14-16: Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
I realized, then, that Paul continues to talk about how he is poured out for the work that the Spirit of God has called him to do (v 17). I can honestly say that I have given God liberty to use me as He will, but that doesn't come easy. In fact, that might just be the hardest part of my life. Every day I am faced with questions, implications, defeat, and even persecution due to my obedience to reach the people God has placed in my life. Even in that, though, I find impeccable, inconceivable joy. Why? Because God has given me a mission, one that only I can do, and has said that because I have agreed to do His work, I will be poured out. That is a guarantee. When working for the Lord, our spirits and even our physical bodies can get taxed and worn down; but when we look back at verse 14, God reminds us that it is our choice to do His will. Therefore, we should not be complaining or asking why He put us in the task He has chosen for us. Instead, when we start to feel like we have nothing left, we are to cling to the Word of God as our only source of strength and direction. Only then can we truly say that we did God's work the way He desired and the labor and weakness was not in vain.
My answer is yes. This kind of hit me with one of those "mindblown" effects. Verse 13 talks about how God works in us to cause us to gain His will and do His work. But right after that is another very familiar verse, often taught on but not within the context that it is found. It reads: v14-16: Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
I realized, then, that Paul continues to talk about how he is poured out for the work that the Spirit of God has called him to do (v 17). I can honestly say that I have given God liberty to use me as He will, but that doesn't come easy. In fact, that might just be the hardest part of my life. Every day I am faced with questions, implications, defeat, and even persecution due to my obedience to reach the people God has placed in my life. Even in that, though, I find impeccable, inconceivable joy. Why? Because God has given me a mission, one that only I can do, and has said that because I have agreed to do His work, I will be poured out. That is a guarantee. When working for the Lord, our spirits and even our physical bodies can get taxed and worn down; but when we look back at verse 14, God reminds us that it is our choice to do His will. Therefore, we should not be complaining or asking why He put us in the task He has chosen for us. Instead, when we start to feel like we have nothing left, we are to cling to the Word of God as our only source of strength and direction. Only then can we truly say that we did God's work the way He desired and the labor and weakness was not in vain.
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