Tag Archives: Do it as unto the lord

Keeping a distance or getting close?

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I’ve often reflected on our nature as Christians to run with excitement to the Palm Sunday scene. We love the pageantry of waving palms with a popular crowd, and singing, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! But we are reluctant to come close to the cross at Calvary. It’s discomforting to participate with Jesus in his suffering.

 

Franklin Graham makes a similar comparison, noting that as Jesus was led to his crucifixion, “Peter followed Him at a distance to the high priest’s courtyard. And he went in and sat with the servants to see the end” (Matthew 26:58). Graham continues: “Many Christians in America today want to follow Jesus at a distance. They want to give themselves a little room—they want to watch which way the wind will blow before they are publicly seen too close to the Lord. When Jesus is portrayed in a good light or when it’s comfortable, they will stand next to Him. But if Jesus is going to be mocked or cursed or insulted, they want to stay back until they know how things will go.”

 

Perhaps it’s time for each of us to ask God to search our hearts and reveal the ways in which we are maintaining space between us and him. We ask God to come close when we sing praise, study scripture, seek him in prayer, and in times of our own trials. But is that enough? What about those conversations with nonbelievers who are uncomfortable with talk of God and Jesus? Do we become uncomfortable too? Do we turn away from God when we go to work or get busy with our chores and hobbies, believing God still lives in a temple building – forgetting that we ourselves are God’s temple? (1 Corinthians 3:16. 1 Corinthians 6:19) God inhabits his temple, so if we are his temple, he goes with us in every area of our lives! Let us not only meet him at church but celebrate him everywhere we go.

 

What better time than the beginning of a new year to decide to draw close to God, and not leave him at a distance?! Let’s singlemindedly decide to honor him in everything we do.

 

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” James 4-8

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance(A) from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24

 

The Integrated (Not Balanced) Life

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Have you ever tasted two cakes made from the same recipe and discovered that one is much tastier and more satisfying to the appetite than the other? Or gone to the same restaurant and ordered the same meal at two different times and discovered what a difference the touch of the chef makes?

As much as we often talk about having the right ‘ingredients’ in our life or the proper “life balance”, I’ve often struggled with that concept actually working very effectively. We try to get “enough” of this and that in our lives: enough work, enough family time, enough time for chores and hobbies, hopefully some quiet time, time with friends, time with God, and time to reflect on the impact of our life and our dreams. And it IS wise to make sure we prioritize our thoughts and actions to make sure these vital elements aren’t robbed by other worthless endeavors. But have you ever felt this ‘balancing’ act leaves life feeling torn apart into pieces rather than made peacefully whole?

Wilbur Reese wrote a tongue in cheek poem years ago about wanting to buy just three dollars worth of God:
Not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep,
But just enough to equal a cup of warm milk, or a snooze in the sunshine.
Just ecstasy, not transformation.
The warmth of the womb, not a new birth.
A pound of the eternal in a paper sack.
(Excerpts)

We might be better to replace the ambition of a perfectly balanced and compartmentalized life with a blended, integrated life, lived with one purpose throughout our various activities, a life of integrity and passion, intentionality and consistency. As Myron Rush pointed out, the enemy’s greatest lie is to convince us we can separate our ‘secular’ and our spiritual lives with a little bit of one and so much of that. The truth is we have just one life to live fully and with consistency.

Like making bread or cakes, the FULL amount of ingredients of life must be blended, not just ‘balanced in proper proportions.

“Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord.” Colossians 3:23