Our Christian pilgrimage is not a 100 yard dash and with a burst of speed we reach heaven. Our Christian life is a marathon, a long run, and we are called to persevere and endure.
Life is hard.
Life is difficult.
The Christian life is not a life free from adversity.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us in chapter 12, verses 1-3:
"1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
"Let us run with perseverance the race....let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."
Back in the day, we used to have "testimony services," where people would stand up and share what God had done in their lives. People would tell of how they "backslid" from the faith and came back to God.
And almost every testimony of backsliding that I ever heard had at its root, "I got my eyes off the Lord, and I got them on people...and people let me down..."
People will let us down.
It's a fact.
Every place I've ever been there were folks who just disappointed me flat out.
People will let us down.
And not only do people let us down, we have ourselves plainly and clearly disappointed others. (That is even harder sometimes to endure - when I let others down).
And if we are going to endure during our face, we have to fix our eyes on someone who won't let us down.
Peopel around us will sometimes disappoint us. But we've got to look away from other persons as our dependency, as our models, and look to Jesus as our model.
He is the pioneer and perfecter of faith,
the orginator,
the consummator,
the trail blazer,
the author,
the finisher of our faith."
I think a lot of us are trying to find meaning for life and happiness in the relationships we have with other people. Relationships are important!
But ultimately we need to look away from others and ourselves and our faith, and our lack of faith, our abilities, our disabilities, our strenghts, and our weaknesses, and look only to Jesus.
My true meaning in life is found in Jesus.
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Jesus is the example we should use for our relationships with others. He sets the standard for how we should be conducting ourselves and how we should be sharing ourselves with others. But everything starts with our daily relationship with Him, and through Him, with the Father. Imagine trying to run the Boston Marathon (to continue the race metaphor) with no shoes on. That's exactly what we're doing if we don't keep Jesus as our main focus. We might be alright for a mile or two but eventually, pain will set in...we will step on a rock or seven...we will get stepped on and our toes will get crushed. Christ is the way to avoid that...not that living a Christian life is easy...George and YouthExtreme have both talked about failing, backsliding, losing the face of our Savior and I can do the same. A daily walk with Jesus is very rewarding but also very difficult in the world in which we live. We cannot shut ourselves off from the world, or we will not be light and salt of the earth...we have to mix and mingle and be aware of the world in order to effectively evangelize to the world. So, we lose sight sometimes of who is really important...God is really important, my relationship with Jesus Christ is really important, my wife is important, my kids are important, my brothers and sisters (biological and spiritual) are important, my mother (aunts and uncles) is important, my boss is a reality for me, my coworkers are a reality for me, my employees are a reality for me, the people I serve daily are a reality for me, my ministries are a reality for me. But, first and foremost, God is the dominant fixture in my life now. Do I falter? Do I fail? Do I lose sight of the finish line? Yes...almost each and every day. And God is faithful to forgive me when I ask (I ask often) for forgiveness. Jesus is faithful to intercede for me with the Father.
I am thankful to still be in the race...many times I have been off the course and in the gutter somewhere...and thankful that God redirects me to his Word for instruction and guidance. The most important guidance He gives is to love Him and love His people. That's how I want to live my life, now and forevermore.
Love God, Love people.
Jon
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