Are you tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work?
If you answered "yes" to that question, take heart weary traveler; there is hope.
Why does it so often seem like life just doesn't work out as we had hoped? Many of us were taught when we became followers of Christ that if you just try your best to follow the principles in the Bible, that God will bless you with a good life, right?
But, if we are truly honest about it, we will admit that often times, things go south, even though we did "our best" to try and faithfully obey what we were taught.
In church you may have heard something like this, "Just stand under the spout where the blessings come out."
That may sound great in a sermon.
However, the reality is, sometimes, even though we've prayed, cried and tried, the marriage doesn't always work out. The cancer isn't always healed. The house or car still gets repossessed. The job we had hoped for doesn't always materialize. The prodigal child for whom we've travailed in prayer for the last decade is still rebellious and unsaved.
"Why God?" we cry out.
"What happened?" we lament.
"What am I doing wrong?"
Sometimes, we as Christians try to claim promises that God never made to us. Other times, we expect God to do everything we ask of Him simply because, "we have faith that He will do it."
But often times, He chooses to do something quite different than what we expect or demand.
The fact is—He is God, and He can do whatever He wants. This is His earth, His universe, His creation. All things were made by Him and for Him, including us. And God is all-knowing. He alone knows the future, and He will bring to pass His perfect will, not our imperfect will.
Sadly, many Christians today treat God as little more than a convenient mall Santa Claus. We stand in line to rattle off our long list of demands, and then say, "See Ya next Christmas when it's time to bring me more presents!"
I think the following statement says it very well:
"God is not a vending machine. We don't insert the proper change and then reach into the tray to claim whatever sweet blessing we want."
How often do we treat God that way? Treating Him as if He were obligated to bless us, because we did "our best" to follow the rules?
God is not indebted to us. Rather, we, who have been saved by grace through the divine gift of faith, owe everything to Him.
If you are weary today of running on the hamster wheel of performance—trying to obey the rules in the Bible so that God will in turn bless you for it; jump off that merry-go-round. It will only lead you to more frustration, disappointment and defeat.
He is the Way.
The old code of Law that we were under before we were saved in Christ brought only slavery and an eternal death sentence. We were slaves to a code of perfection that we could never perfectly obey. No one can. That's why Jesus Christ came to offer salvation freely to the world—to all those who will choose to believe on Him and receive Him as Savior.
Here is our deliverance from that unattainable code of perfection—the freedom that we as Christians have now been given in Christ:
"The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the Law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God." (Hebrews 7:18-19)
The "better hope" spoken of here is Jesus Christ and the direct access we have to intimacy with God Himself, through Christ. A New and Living Way.
Jesus said to the religious 'rule keeping' pharisees of His day:
"You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life." (John 5:39-40)
The entire Bible points to and reveals Jesus Christ. So often though, we as Christians seek the blessings more than we seek the Blesser. We seek the gifts while forsaking the Giver. We don't come to Jesus that we may have life, but we come to Him looking for the things of this life.
Is it any wonder so many of us are weary, disillusioned, and disappointed?
The old (wrong) way of thinking was, "If I just do enough good things, then God has to reward my goodness and obedience with His blessings."
But Jesus said: "There are none who are righteous; no, not one."
Our salvation was a free gift by God's grace. We couldn't earn it by trying to be good, and we can't keep it by trying to be good.
The same applies to God's blessings. They are blessings from Him to us, as He chooses to give them, or withold them. We cant earn or demand them on a system of merit. That is returning to the old system of law which requires that we obey the whole code of law perfectly. In that old system, if we break just one requirement of the law, we were guilty before God of breaking the entire law.
But we tend to think that if we can obey the rules "most of the time" that, surely God is obligated to reward us with His blessings, because we "did our best."
God's blessings are not some kind of magic "formula" that we can 'name and claim.'
That's not how it works.
What God desires from us is our love and devotion. He wants a relationship with us. That's why Jesus came, to restore man's relationship with God. If we try to relate with God on a merit system of 'our performance obligates reward' we will be left feeling empty, disillusioned and weary.
If you are working to obtain a better marriage for instance, by merely "trying your best" to obey the marriage rules and methods in the Bible, your marriage is probably not going to be very successful. Oh, things may go well for awhile. But eventually, you will grow apart from your relationship with your spouse because you have grown apart from your relationship with God because you were not seeking Him first.
There is a simple triangle diagram illustrating "husband" on one of the bottom corners, and "wife" on the opposite bottom corner. "God" is rightfully at the top of the peak. At the bottom, husband and wife are far apart, but the closer they grow upward to God, the closer they will grow to each other. This is exactly why my wife and I are still married today, and are happier and more in love than we have ever been.
Even though marriage will never be perfect, what people perceive as the "perfect marriage" is only obtainable when both the husband and the wife choose to pursue intimacy with God first and foremost, and not pursue intimacy with each other as their primary goal. Yes, God desires a husband and wife to experience true intimacy, in all its applications. But He desires true intimacy with us as His children first.
True intimacy in marriage is the fruit of having a right relationship with God. A truly blessed marriage flows out of a husband and wife's intimacy with God. Not by a man and a woman trying their best to obey and follow the right 'methods' for a successful marriage.
Yes, absolutely, as Paul wrote in Ephesians chapter 5, "A husband must love his wife as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for her." And yes, absolutely, "And the wife must respect her husband."
But if we look at these commands from the Lord primarily as our dutiful obligation and as required rules for a successful marriage, we have missed the heart of God. If we choose to love God by embracing these commands as a joyous "get to" as opposed to a dutiful "got to," we can then begin to walk according to Love, and not Law.
It's about loving because of Relationship—not Rules.
The problems we experience in our marriages, or in our lives in general, are merely symptoms. The root of our problems declare the condition of our relationship (or our lack of relationship) with God.
So, if you are weary today—tired of constantly striving to try and make your life work, then respond to the loving voice of Jesus—our Great Shepherd—and come to Him today...
“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Surrender all your working and striving of trying to earn His blessings by keeping all the rules to Jesus, and just seek intimacy with Him because you love Him. Not because you want something from Him. The greatest blessing we can ever receive is the gift of relationship with Jesus. Only intimacy with Him can satisfy us and fill up all the longings and empty spaces in our hearts.
Jesus stands at the door of your heart and He gently knocks. He asks that you open the door of your heart from the inside. When you open your heart to Him, He will come in and He will dine with you, and you with Him.
Rest in His love.
—God is Love and Love Never Fails.
No comments:
Post a Comment