No one said it would be easy.
I think that a lot of times people get the wrong idea about becoming a Christian. I think that they think that (wow, a lot of t's) once you accept Jesus Christ that everything in your life from then on will be hunky-dory. Really what has happened is mostly in the spiritual realm, so the attacks start right away.
So here we are again. I have some youth with me in the car again (I tell you that if I ever write a book I think I am going to call it "Mobile Ministry") going somewhere and we begin to talk about parental relationships. Her relationship with her mother is not where it should be, and sometimes I think that both of them are at fault, but that is not the issue here. We were talking about how we as youth leaders have tried to deal with her mom and the reasoning behind we do what we do. I told her that sometimes she doesn't help us out.
If her mother doesn't see a change in her since she has been coming to youth group and her mother is leary of her being in a "church" setting to begin with, why would she continue to let her come to youth group? Her response to me was that it was hard to have a different attitude and that she struggles with that.
That got me to thinkin'. I am reading "Fresh Faith" by Jim Cymbala. In the current chapter I am reading, he happens to talk about "struggling". In there he says that a lot of Christians (and I have said it too) say things like "I am struggling to obey the Lord..." or "We all struggle in that area...". He says that this shows that Christians are focused on their abilities, not God's.
Let's look at Galatians 3:3 "Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"
Sometimes we just forget that He wants to be involved in every part of our lives. We think I can give him control over that part, but I really need to take care of this part on my own. He is big enough to take care of it all. All we need to do is to know Him, trust in Him and to realize that our strength comes from Him. Remember, no one said it would be easy.
So here we are again. I have some youth with me in the car again (I tell you that if I ever write a book I think I am going to call it "Mobile Ministry") going somewhere and we begin to talk about parental relationships. Her relationship with her mother is not where it should be, and sometimes I think that both of them are at fault, but that is not the issue here. We were talking about how we as youth leaders have tried to deal with her mom and the reasoning behind we do what we do. I told her that sometimes she doesn't help us out.
If her mother doesn't see a change in her since she has been coming to youth group and her mother is leary of her being in a "church" setting to begin with, why would she continue to let her come to youth group? Her response to me was that it was hard to have a different attitude and that she struggles with that.
That got me to thinkin'. I am reading "Fresh Faith" by Jim Cymbala. In the current chapter I am reading, he happens to talk about "struggling". In there he says that a lot of Christians (and I have said it too) say things like "I am struggling to obey the Lord..." or "We all struggle in that area...". He says that this shows that Christians are focused on their abilities, not God's.
Let's look at Galatians 3:3 "Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?"
Sometimes we just forget that He wants to be involved in every part of our lives. We think I can give him control over that part, but I really need to take care of this part on my own. He is big enough to take care of it all. All we need to do is to know Him, trust in Him and to realize that our strength comes from Him. Remember, no one said it would be easy.
posted by Matthew J. Hind at 9:25 AM
3 Comments:
I really like that viewpoint that struggling to obey God is focusing on our abilities and not the Lord's. I think I'm gonna have to develop that a little further in my own thinking. Thanks!
Amen Matt, transformation into a new creature and a new attitude is radical, difficult to adjust to, but not a struggle. Why do I love to struggle though?
Interesting. I would agree that we focus on the wrong person's abilities, and that limits us.
When I say, "I am struggling in that area...", I think what I am trying to say is that I am aware that I am not doing well in that area and am trying to learn to submit to God's help and authority in it.
Great blog! Thanks for the great Christmas letter!
Blessings!
Post a Comment
<< Home