That is a very loaded question! Some are better left unanswered but I feel this one is important to some out there who have chosen the Christian walk similar to mine. I once coined the phrase "a state of positive discontent" to describe what my life was like. I'm glad to be where I am, having come through what I've come through but am not content with staying here. There has to be more. The quest for positive change in my life is reflected in my quest for all that which is outside the box. I never have liked boxes and feel like they hinder the life Christ has for all of us. It's like the saying, "it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." Some things just demand of us a decision to move forward even if we know the cost. Paul says that he counted the cost and pressed on toward that goal which is in Christ Jesus. He also counted all his past as garbage and worthless compared with what he found in Christ. We could say Paul was consumed with Jesus. That would be a gross understatement. Paul was consumed with his dying and Christ's living that Jesus was all he could see. That is passion at it's greatest (at least for a human).
Whether those around me agree or not is immaterial. Whether those around me engage me or not is immaterial. Whether those around me join my journey or not is immaterial. Yet, I do want people to agree, engage and join me in this journey. The difference is I want others to seek THEIR journey with Christ. Indelibly we will meet on the same road. The journey with Jesus is individual. No one can do it for me. No one can do it for you. We are not faced with the decision of whether we can do the journey or not. We are faced with the decision of where we can and will follow Jesus regardless of where he leads us. That's where the state of positive discontent comes in. I don't expect people to understand the journey I am on. I don't even expect people to join me on the journey. Many have been there for the season that Jesus brought them into. When that season was gone they didn't go away...they went on. People come into and go out of our lives for various reasons. If those reasons are centered on Christ then peace resides in the arrival and departure of like souls.
I'm not tied to planet earth. From an early age I've taught my children the temporariness of living here on earth. That teaching can only be based on returning home to Jesus in heaven. Though we are missed by some when we die and go to heaven; we are also missed by some when the old man in us dies and we become alive with Jesus as our Savior. The focus changes from worldly to heavenly. Though we need to be careful in our heavenly mindedness so that we don't become no earthly good, we must make the transition from death to life. When I physically die here on planet earth is not the question. It's where I take the next breath that matters. My last exhale is immediately followed by my next inhale in heaven. Should I have not made the choice to follow Jesus my next inhale would be in hell. My flippancy about life on earth is well known amongst those who know me. Some wonder and some understand. Neither those wondering or those understanding have any affect on my decision to follow Jesus. It's my desire and prayer that everyone know Jesus as their Savior. If I don't live with the focus and hope that I have, how will they know? How will they make a decision so huge in their lives? How will they understand the gravity of either decision?
Jesus came, lived, died, and rose from the dead so I can have life and that life abundantly from a heavenly perspective. The Holy Spirit came to breathe in and through me so that others can come to know Jesus. Bringing glory to God is the highest calling of all believers. If your life isn't bringing glory to Jesus what is it bring glory to? That's a question I live with asking myself every day. Sometimes I choose to bring glory to myself or to some worldly thought, possession or other obstacle to Christly living. More of the time I bring glory to God. One of the most amazing miracles I've ever encountered is that God can work in spite of me! He has, he does and he will continue to do so. What's it like to be me? I'm a person who lives a life of positive discontent. It's what I've chosen.
No comments:
Post a Comment