I see it too often these days – people just choosing to exist! For too many reasons to name, they give up on
life, letting things go. Disappointment and disillusionment replace hope. On
Monday morning they are already dreaming about Friday afternoon, getting
through the week. Without a real sense of ‘why’ we are alive, we tend to get eat
too much, watch too much TV … drift through day after day.
You are asking, “So, Jerry, you are urging me to chase
success?” Yes and no. If success is measured
by your store of stuff or your social status, you are chasing an empty dream. A
million advertisements try to convince us that "If you get more stuff, you
will enjoy a better and happier life." Most of us have realized that the more stuff
we have, the less time we have to enjoy
it because we work harder to keep it all. The wisdom of the Word challenges the
lie of materialism. Jesus said, "Life
is not defined by what you have, even if you have a lot!" (Luke 12.18
The Message) On top of all that, even
if we get a lot, someday we will leave it all behind. The government and our
kids will divide the pile. The stuff nobody wants will end up at the Salvation
Army or on the curb waiting for the garbage truck!
What if we focused on an entirely different goal?
What if instead of getting things we worked with the Spirit to become somebody of significance?
What if instead of getting things we worked with the Spirit to become somebody of significance?
Real success in life is finding the smile of God, living
within His plan. How? Love!
Not the syrupy, romantic thing that keeps Hollywood in business, but the bold,
engaged, care for others shaped by the love of Jesus. Your day will end better
if you work at helping another person feel the love of God, if you give worth
and dignity to another, if you find a way to lift that person who is ready to
give up. Remember, we do not stir up this love in our own strength. It is born
in us by the Spirit when we accept God's offer of love by faith. John reminds us that ‘we love because He loved us first!”
The best life is not a destiny
but a path. To borrow a word, we are
‘becomers.’ On a daily basis, we give away our prideful Self
and surrender to the Spirit. Jesus says "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish
ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If
you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life
for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it."
(Mark 8:34-35, NLT)
Believe me, there is real joy in that choice. John Ortberg
(pastor and author) writes that "surrender
is not passivity nor abdication. It is saying yes to God and life each day. It
is accepting the gifts He has given to me - my body, my mind, my biorhythms, my
energy. It is letting go of my envy or desire for what He has given to someone
else. It is letting go of outcomes... Surrender is accepting reality ... the
ultimate reality: I am a ceaseless being with an eternal destiny in God's great
universe." {When the Game Is
Over, It All Goes Back Into the Box, 2007, Zondervan} The
deepest surrender, Ortberg says, grows
out of the profound realization that I am not master of the game, Another is.
In our choice of surrender, God is able to direct us and
will make us His partner in building the Kingdom of God. Sound too lofty? Is
that grandiose? Not at all. It is our privileged place as children of the
Heavenly Father. Can you imagine a life more significant than that? What would life look like if instead of
working to impress others or building a network of power to defend our rights,
we chose humble service without needing thanks or applause? What if we measured “success” as
being content to be useful to God with no expectation other than to find the
joy of obedience? I want, by the
grace of God and the help of the Spirit, to live as a “becomer,” meaning that I
will not remain where I was yesterday, nor will I lose myself in fantasies
about tomorrow. Instead, I will pursuing Christ to become like Him today, with
but one desire – that He shines through me.
Here’s a word from the Word. "For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord
is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil (old sinful and
self-centered ways) removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the
Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into
his glorious image." (2
Corinthians 3:17-18, NLT)
_________
Take My Life And Let It Be (Hendon)
Take my life and let
it be
Consecrated Lord to
Thee
Take my moments and my
days
Let them flow in
ceaseless praise
Let them flow in
ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let
them move
At the impulse of Thy
love
Take my feet and let
them be
Swift and beautiful
for Thee
Swift and beautiful
for Thee
Take my will and make
it Thine
It shall be no longer
mine
Take my heart it is
Thine own
It shall be Thy royal
throne
It shall be Thy royal
throne
Take my love my Lord I
pour
At Thy feet its
treasure store
Take myself and I will
be
Ever only all for Thee
Ever only all for Thee
Frances Ridley Havergal | Henri Abraham Cesar Malan
© Words: Public Domain
Faith Discovery Church
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