We just covered what
the “real possession” is within our lives.
It is the career that God has called to all who call upon Jesus as
Savior. I almost hate to use the word
“career” or “calling” for something our hearts should be glad about. In other words, the love of God should be a
natural outcome of surrender. But are we
consumed by the love of God? Do we even
know what it means to be consumed by God?
Is there anyone out there who has fully surrendered their lives to
God? No?
Well, I guess I must be in good company.
On to reality. While we should be
consumed by God, we are not because we still have distractions that we think we
need in our lives. Some of them are
righteous and others are sins.
Regardless, we need to examine ourselves and determine if our
relationship with God reflective of our calling? When considering our Christian lives; are we
fighting a losing war? Let me give you
some good news. The Lord has won. He said, “It is finished.” The “losing war” has already been won!
I find it very interesting that the
Desiderata connects “real possession” and “changing fortunes”. What significance does this have for us? Our calling should be from God. The real possession of our life should be our
calling which is from God. Since the
world around us is constantly changing; our calling should be steadfast and
ongoing. Basically, we are called to be
in the world but not of the world. Being
in the world with our calling is important to God. He wants us to be moms’ dads, teachers,
truckers, mechanics, secretaries, CEOs, and any other vocation your calling may
be associated with. Perhaps you are a
coach or student. The presence of God in
our lives is essential for bringing the Gospel to all the world. There are motorcycle gangs that are witnesses
for Christ just as there are pastors who live out the Gospel with the
homeless. Being a nurse can bring
healing in many ways with the ultimate healing being life in Christ.
When reading the Desiderata, the “real
possession” phrase jumps out at me. I
love to barter and most often get some real good bargains that I have no
intention of ever giving up. There are
so many ways to hold onto these possessions.
The first one is by seeing the possession. Looking at the possession embeds the picture
in my mind. Whenever I think about the
possession I bring up the visual aspect and “look at it” from my memories point
of view. One such possession I will use
as an example here is a beautiful steel broad sword with a leather
scabbard. The handle is leather bound
and has a decorative hilt. The cross
bars where the hilt and the blade meet are dark steel and very strong. Everything on the sword is straight and true. But there is more. The first smell I hold onto is a memory
also. I take out the sword from time to
time and pull it from the leather scabbard.
The leather smells wonderful!
It’s a simple scabbard and the strong smell of leather emanates from it. The steel also has its own metal odor mixed
with the light coat of oil. Being able
to smell, like vision, is a very nice blessing from God. God didn’t stop there when he created
mankind. He also gave us a sense of
taste. No, I didn’t taste the
sword. What does happen on occasion is
my mouth waters thinking about something wonderful. Likewise going without water can result in a
much different parched taste in our mouth.
Seeing and smelling followed by taste are just 3 of our senses we
utilize daily. Feel is very important in
two senses. The first one is physically
feeling an object. When I take the sword
out I grab it by the handle and instantly feel the metal shape and the wrapping
of the handle. The cross bar nestles
onto my thumb and pointer finger. I take
my other hand and take hold of the leather scabbard. The smooth texture of the scabbard is easy to
grasp and feels like an old friend; known and trusted. As I draw the sword from the scabbard I hear
the “sing” of steel against leather and a slight ring of the blade as it exits
the scabbard. Swinging it through the
air I hear “whoosh” or “swish” of the blade cutting through the air. When I put the sword away, the sound of steel
sliding inside of a leather scabbard visits my ears. The resounding thud of the cross-bat seating
on the scabbard ends the sensual odyssey.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the emotional side of the
sword. The emotions that come to the
surface for me are courage, strength, justice, and protected. The emotional impact along with the physical
makes a complete picture within us. The
experience has also rested on us and becomes a familiar friend.
So, it is supposed to be with the
experience of Christ in our lives. Do we
take all our senses and bring them into the presence of God? Do we surrender our senses to God so that he
may be manifested to the world around us through them? Just as the Christian is the sum of the total
parts of the church; the senses are the sum of the total Christian being. What would happen if every Christian boldly
and wisely brought Christ to their world with all their senses? Would people “see, hear, feel, and taste” the
love of God? Or, would they encounter
some other sense that is the manifestation of the world and what it
represents? Depending on what is
surrendered and how much is surrendered will determine the sweetness of Christ
or the bile of the world. Even as a long-time
believer I have presented the bile of the world all too often. So, the next day I get up and try again. James 4:17 says: “if you know what is right
to do and don’t do it, you sin.” There
are only two real questions for us to consider. The first is determining whether
we have given up our self and surrendered our life to Christ to live through
us. The second is determining what God
wants our lives to be to the world around us.
Have we chosen Christ and are we sold out to His will?
Salvation
is a real possession given by a real God. Likewise, you and I have a calling
even if we call it a career. The “real
possession” in that “calling” is grace so abundantly offered to us. Our task then is to pass on the grace to
others which brings glory to God. I don’t care if you are an ironworker or
pastor. Everyone needs to accept the
gift of grace from God through Jesus Christ and then follow him in the totality
of our lives. I feel sick over all the lost chances that have come my way to
share Christ when I’ve chose not to.
It’s not that every conversation needs to be around being saved or being
a Christian. We needn’t put ourselves
and others in that kind of prison. It’s
been said that people don’t care about how much you know until they find out
how much you care. I’d like to say I am
a caring and knowledgeable Christian.
Unfortunately, there have been many times in my life where I have acted
in ways other than Christian. So, when I
pen these lines please keep in mind that I, like the church, am on a path of
discovery and surrender. None of us is
perfect. Those who think they are
perfect are perfectly wrong. None of us
can do perfection.
I
went to a beauty school yesterday and met Cassie who would be cutting my
hair. She obligingly asked me what kind
of cut I liked. I told her, honestly,
that she should consider me a blank slate and to do whatever she thought best. She didn’t believe me! After pursuing the subject for a few moments,
she decided I wasn’t kidding. She did
check back with me several times during the cut and my answer remained the
same. Because of my posture she was able
to do what she was called to do and had the responsibility to not do that which
would not be good. I was even given a
beard trim. Cassie was able to have several
items checked off as approved by her instructor and I had a terrific
haircut. When we have our lives stopped
by God and restarted in Christ there is a certain amount of time before people
will believe you that the change is both real and maturing as we grow. The haircut was absolutely first class. That’s what is expected of us as Christians
even in the presence of adversity. Our
world has taken a turn that brings negative consequences when we talk to co-workers
about Jesus. We have such a “loud”
witness in so many ways (five listed above) for people to see, hear, and ask
about. People should be able to see a
Christian and say, “there is something different about him/her.” Hopefully they don’t mean something
negative. If we are presenting the
presence of Christ in our lives people can and will see Jesus. What they choose to do with Jesus is their
choice. That doesn’t mean we cannot pray
for them.
If we are tapped into the grace from God
and not tapped into man’s idea of grace; then we won’t be jealous of what
others have, do or become. Jealousy has
had several names over time. It’s been
called the “green eyed monster” and “selfishness” to name just a couple. In the world of justification and rationalization
the world takes jealousy and makes it a good thing. Jealousy is not just something that
occasionally trespasses in our lives.
Jealousy is a one-way trip to sin.
There is no need for jealousy for the Christian for we are complete in
Christ. We lack nothing. All our needs are taken care of. I wish it was that easy! However, simple and easy is not the way of
most Christians. The manner of which we compare is the fertile planting ground
for the seeds of jealousy. They begin
small and innocuous bursting to full grown jealousy in what seems like an
instant. Sin has been in us since we
were conceived in our mother’s womb. It
takes little to activate sin our lives.
Those same senses we mentioned earlier are what feed the sin in our
lives. Those same senses surrendered to
God weeds the garden so that all that is left is a Christian who can bear fruit
for God. Just because we fell off the
horse we don’t need to believe that we cannot ride horses. We are a sinful man fraught with sinful
thoughts and actions. We are going to
fall. We are going to get back up
again. Jesus patiently helps us up,
dusts us off and sends us down the road to do his will. He sends us without baggage. We go dragging our baggage behind us. Satan loves that as it makes his job of
distracting us so easy. He wants you and
I distracted from the calling and mission.
That way others won’t be reached for Jesus. He is such a phony!
Our lives are enhanced when we first do
his will and secondly associate with his people. There is no question that every influence the
world has is surrounding us every moment of every day. Everything we take in remains lodged in our
brains waiting to be brought out in a negative way by Satan. Likewise, those thoughts are also waiting to be
used by Christ. Jesus wants the world to
know that he understands them all personally.
Being real with people includes our not thinking of ourselves as
good/great and those around us as lesser.
Though Jesus is God, he interacted with people’s lives on their level
and in a way that they could see his love for them. Easy task for God is easy but not so easy for
mankind. Note that I did not use
“impossible” in the later statement.
It’s our ability to be real with God who knows everything about that allows
us to be real with others. We’ve been
there, done that. People need to know
you understand, have been there, or are even currently struggling with all that
we struggle with. Personally, I’m very
glad that our thoughts are not out loud for everyone to hear. Associating with people is the only way we
will be able to present Christ to them.
I’ve been in quite a number of different denominational churches in the
USA and overseas. To say they have
different messages is very huge! In the
light of the Word, what does Jesus say, believe and think? It’s all laid out there in the pages of our
Bible. Immersion of our lives with
Scripture is changes the way we say, believe and think. Put in good stuff and good stuff can come
out. Put is negative stuff and negative
stuff comes out. Jealousy in equals
jealously out.
Love is NOT jealous. It’s a simple statement and yet very complex
when we throw in free will and man’s definitions. The more we add to a thought the more
difficult we find to incorporate that word into our lives. So, it goes without saying, that we need to
uncomplicated our lives so that people can see Jesus. We are taught from a very early age that we
are to be jealous. “Why can’t you be
like your brother?” “Why can’t you do
things right like your sister?” You get
the picture. We are taught to believe
that jealousy is a good thing and is to be in every area of your life. Have you ever had an evaluation at work where
you were compared to the other 99% who were walking on water? Perhaps you have heard: “If you could just be
more like so in so, you would probably be promoted.” The opposite is also true. Hearing: “Your brother/sister is wonderful in
everything they do.” Or overhearing, “I
just don’t know what to do about him/her; they are just like their
father/mother.” We carry the comments
and competition that is the birth place of jealousy into college life and then
into the work world. Marriage and child
bearing gives us the opportunity to raise kids who will be just like us. Ouch!
I don’t like to be like me and I certainly don’t want people to have to
grow and mature what I went through in that same process. We tell ourselves and maybe out friends that
we are NOT going to be like our parents and certainly won’t raise our kids the
same way our parents did. Except for the
grace of Christ through salvation we have little choice but to follow that
which we do know. We know the world and
its ways. It’s visible and in front of
us all the time. It knocks on our doors
when we watch television. The world
leaks into our minds through the hearing of lyrics of songs born from the
world’s point of view. There are many
different arenas where we are pulled away from God or prevented from going to
God. To that purpose God has called you.
If you could only save one possession
just before a disaster what would it be?
Pictures on the wall, financial items in the safe, that special
car/truck in the garage, or Jesus? If
you are a Christian and said any of the items before Jesus it doesn’t mean you
don’t know him. We, as a people, are
called to a life of priority.
Christianity is not for the weak hearted. There is a very real battle both visible and
invisible going on around us. If you
don’t feel the battle, you probably don’t do much for God. With few exceptions I feel like I have been
in a war zone since October 1, 1972 when I first surrendered to God. In this war zone I have been assured that I
am not alone. In the visible and
invisible worlds God is there reminding me to get up when I fall and to not
allow what my past has been to disqualify myself from telling people about
Jesus. The real possession I have is my
salvation that brought me to my calling.
I’m to be a witness of the love of God to those whom God puts me in
front of. If I’ve talked with you about
Jesus; it’s because God put you there. If
I remain humbled by the work Jesus has already done for me, I won’t be
jealous. There is none greater or lesser
than me. There are only believers and
non-believers. One group chooses to be
saved and one does not. Which choice
will your parents, siblings, other relatives, friends, co-workers make when
they see Jesus in you? What will you
(and I) think or say when those we didn’t show Christ to spend eternity in
hell?
If we truly focus on the calling God has
put before us the stakes get high. The
more we do for Christ, the more we will face adversity. We have an enemy who is very angry. He does not want you and me effective for
Jesus. Nor is he to be taken
lightly. Jesus has won the battle with
Satan. All that is left is for us to
take Jesus seriously. If we are focused
and busy presenting Jesus to our world we will not have the time or energy to
be jealous. The less we have jealousy in
our lives, the more we have the love of God flowing out of us. The more the love of God flows out of us the
less people see us and the more they see God.
When people see God, they see their need for Him in their lives. They then have the choice to follow Jesus or
not. If they choose to follow him they
have eternal life. Who wouldn’t want to
share that? It’s what we are called to.
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