God is quite the masterful teacher.
Today I read a quote from a pastor challenging a group of young believers that said something to the effect of "Stop flirting with the world and remain faithful to Christ". For whatever reason, this grabbed me. It didn't grab me because it was some super advanced insight into our behavior and relationship with God. It didn't grab me because it was something I hadn't conceptually heard before. I think it grabbed me because it so simply encapsulated the way we/I tend to passively treat the Lord.
A few months ago, I made a similar comparison in my own head. It had to do with food consumption. The thought was centered around the idea that we know exactly what is good for us nutritionally; however, we constantly make decisions to eat food that falls outside the "good for us" realm. This observation comes mostly from my own life. I know a pint of Ben & Jerry's and a can of Pepsi (a favorite combo of mine) holds little to no nutritional value. I also know I couldn't bear to eat it every day. If I find myself eating things outside the "good for us" category more often, I do my best to supplement with healthy foods and maybe even extra exercise.This helps me to feel more balanced, but definitely doesn't help me to obtain an any more visibly or internally healthy physical form. It does, at times, make me feel like I've done my part to stay exactly where I am. Unfortunately, my default attitude when it comes to the Lord all too often directly resembles the aforementioned. I read Proverbs 1:29-33 today and felt it applied.
Proverbs 1:29-33
29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord, 30 since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
Now, I would not consider myself an active hater of knowledge or one who has chosen not to fear the Lord. I generally feel like I have a desire(and sometimes a matching work ethic) to follow Christ. I generally understand what is required of me. I also have a desire to not have a muffin top. I have yet to love doing crunches/ab workouts. Point is, a desire is one thing, responding to it is another. I greatly desire the result of verse 33: whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear or harm. The conflict lies in the actual putting to practice of these things. I know there are plenty different opinions on how one might practically go about this, but this verse is a long-referenced one in my own walk.
Psalm 119:9-16
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.1 4 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.
I think it's significant that the psalmist emphasizes seeking God through His word and meditating on God's instruction. It's all over the Old Testament. The apostle Paul's letters always seem to point back to his prior instruction, and an appeal to recall/live by it. I, to some degree, understand grace. I am so thankful that I don't have to earn my salvation, and that God isn't looking for me to be impressive. He is; however, looking for me to be obedient. It makes sense. God gives us a way to be made right with Him at the expense of His only Son, we logically would respond with lives that are worthy of His name.
Deuteronomy 30:16-17 says 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them.
The idea throughout seems to be that we need to continue in seeking God, putting His word on our hearts, and meditating on His ways. It seems implied that we have to work for it, lest we forget our instruction. We must rejoice in following God's rules, understanding their value. We must be reminded in order to do so.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-2
1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
There seems to also be a caution to remind us what we'll be given to if we turn our hearts away. I hope that God never becomes a binge diet. My prayer is that I would replace the areas of sin I choose, with the only real alternative of God's way instead of surrendering to my appetite for sin. I for one, don't desire for my soul to be hefty with the burden of being far from God. I can see the results all over my life when I lack the discipline to really be seeking God and praying for a heart that aligns with His. Similar to the way I'm reminded Ben & Jerry's will grow my stomach as my appearance becomes more..shall we say..hefty. Perhaps the term for the drag I feel when I've not spent an adequate amount of time with the Lord is a spiritual muffintop. Spending enough time consuming the spiritual junk food of the world will surely result in a change in our walk (a stretch, I know). I know God knows that I don't mean to treat him as the spiritual health food I eat when I "need to feel better". I am constantly reminded that I need grace on a daily, even hourly basis. The question I'm left with is this: "At what point do we fully develop an appetite for God and decide to cut out all the worldly junk food?"
No comments:
Post a Comment