Voices, voices, voices.
There are many voices in the world, each urging us to move in its direction, each seeking to convince us to follow it. There are many occupations in the world, each demanding our time and attention. There are, you guessed it, many concerns in the world, each vying for supremacy and primacy.
Competition is fierce for what constitutes the structure of our existence – our time, our money, our love, our gifts; so many
deities who demand subjugation. And we must choose, which we do, but not always wisely.
Paul, the apostle, with his usual wisdom and inspired by the Spirit, informs the church at Colosse of his continued prayer on their behalf—he asks that they may truly know what God wants, be saturated with wisdom, and have an abundance of spiritual understanding, so that they may discern the true value of things. And thus be able to change their lifestyle to one that pleases God.
As a result of all this, their lives will produce fruit, thus have a positive impact and they themselves will be more intimate with God.
[quote style=”1″]“This is the request I continually make to God for myself and for those in my spiritual care; I pray that the deafening noise of the worldly system hostile to God will be but a distant echo to us, while the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit fills our whole being and makes us sensitive to and able to see the value of the things that truly matter so as to devote our time, money, and attention to them.”[/quote]
Unfortunately, it is common to see believers become so immersed in everyday life and its attendant things that temporal things become the sole value and the only basis of their relationship with God. It is true that one can be confronted with overwhelming situations, threatening people and circumstances, and confronting them becomes the primary purpose of existence.
Concerns, pleasures, and leisure activities take up considerable energy, while the real questions of human existence are relegated to the periphery, if not completely off our radar. Not now, not later, I can't afford it, I don't have the means, it's not a good time, there will be other opportunities, God knows my life is complex, etc., etc.
But 'that day' will NEVER come because as long as we are willing to be distracted from the goal, we always will be, eThis, at the risk of our souls.
We imagine that God smiles benevolently like a doting Dad while we busy ourselves with everything except the affairs of His kingdom. I think not. Some would say, 'But God knows I have needs.' That There is no doubt after all Jesus is the one who said in Matthew 6.31
[quote style=”1″]“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or, ‘What shall we drink? What shall we wear?’ 32 The Gentiles are always thinking about these things, but your Father in heaven knows that you need them. So set your mind first on the kingdom of God and on what is right in his sight, and all these things will be added to you.”[/quote]
So we don't have the same basic values as God, our concern is ourselves and our needs and that hasn't changed and Jesus challenges us to put Him first and promises that God will see to it that the rest is done. But we don't believe it. We seek first the satisfaction of our needs and our pleasures and incidentally, time permitting, the things of the kingdom. Our prayer is God, give all these things so that I can make your kingdom my primary concern.
What is valuable in God's eyes?
The willingness to see things the way He did, the change of life, holiness, service, bringing people to know Jesus, the faith, the church, and HIMSELF. All of this has value in God's eyes; and when Paul began to adopt the same values, he gave up his prerogatives and exchanged a life of ease and comfort for a life of faith, service, and for God. But because ease and comfort remain supreme values for us, the world and the devil keep us fully mobilizing all our faculties and abilities in the quest to achieve them.
Meanwhile, we disdain life changes, knowing God, serving God, commitment to building the church, converting individuals to Jesus, discipleship; the very things for which we will be held accountable after our time on earth; the very things that will serve as a standard by which to judge our lives.
When one says they are too busy, too broke, too …….. (take your pick) to devote themselves to these things, they are showing a serious lack of wisdom, understanding of basic things, and being a poor manager of their own life. They are on dangerous ground and setting themselves up for a future of regret while missing out on the noble goals of their lives by wondering why true peace remains elusive.
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BUT…
But, as beloved Paul would say, “that is not how you were taught, Chris,” and I believe better things about you. It seems to me, moreover, evident that the One who brought into existence all that exists, the One who conceived the extraordinarily ingenious plan of redemption from which we benefit so richly, is quite capable of organizing our little lives if we allow Him and accept His road map for our lives.
We took Him at His word and entrusted Him with our eternal destination, so how can we not entrust Him with our fleeting existence on this planet?
It is up to each of us today to put our full trust in God and follow His plan; to take the time to develop our relationship with Him, to throw ourselves, our money, our time, our gifts into what constitutes the true purpose of life in Christ—loving and serving God, building the church, and transforming the spiritual climate of our generation. And this, believe me, will count for eternity.
Shalom!
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