We were once asked what we considered most important in our lives; that one thing that we thought we could not do without, that one thing that gave the most meaning to our lives. In a group of about 12 Christian youths, not one person named God (if I recall rightly). Oh, sure, He was mentioned, we all knew what the ideal answer was, is; but… I guess I should be glad that we were honest enough to admit the truth.
My answer? Well, truthfully even now I struggle. Yeah, I know it should be God; ask me on a good day, or on a really down in the dumps day and odds are I will say, yes, it is God, but how can I possibly make that claim when on the average day I seem to remember God only when I do my devotional? If He truly is the most important aspect of my life, shouldn’t He be always present? Shouldn’t he always have a say in what I do, how I live, the myriad decisions I make from waking to slumber?
I’m not suggesting that I have to kneel down and pray just to ask God for his take on whether I should wear blue or black today; but He should be present enough that I choose to dress decently, for just the mere fact that I am a Christian means that I represent Him, I am an ambassador for Christ, whether I realize it or not, whether I acknowledge it or not, I am a Christian and I should represent Him right; and just like any other ambassador, I do have to keep the communication lines between us open so that I always know not to go against His will.
If He truly is the most important aspect of my life, I should remember His values, the things He holds dear; I should set aside my pride for humility, I should remember to love even when its oh so much easier to hate, I should remember that I am a lamp, a candle, a light in this world and everything I do reflects on Him.
That reminds me of a story I read somewhere once; a new pastor had come to town and on his first bus trip, the driver gave him more change than he should have gotten. The pastor thought whether to return the money, for it was a paltry amount, or just consider it God’s providence. When he did finally return it, the driver smiled and said, “I was thinking of coming to church, and just hoping that this time we would have an honest man in the pulpit.”
So now I put the same question to you; what do you consider most important to you? Is it any one person? Your job, your studies, your family? Think about it before you come up with an answer. Is it God? If not, it should be, over and above anything else.
In Matt. 10:37, Jesus effectively says, he who loves family more than Me is not worthy of Me (paraphrased), that doesn’t make much sense to many people since after all, Christ does preach a Gospel of Love, but consider Solomon, a King so blessed by God, and yet because of his wives, because of his family, he was drawn away from God, that should not have happened if he always put God first.
And if your answer to the question is God, ask yourself, is it really?
My answer? Well, truthfully even now I struggle. Yeah, I know it should be God; ask me on a good day, or on a really down in the dumps day and odds are I will say, yes, it is God, but how can I possibly make that claim when on the average day I seem to remember God only when I do my devotional? If He truly is the most important aspect of my life, shouldn’t He be always present? Shouldn’t he always have a say in what I do, how I live, the myriad decisions I make from waking to slumber?
I’m not suggesting that I have to kneel down and pray just to ask God for his take on whether I should wear blue or black today; but He should be present enough that I choose to dress decently, for just the mere fact that I am a Christian means that I represent Him, I am an ambassador for Christ, whether I realize it or not, whether I acknowledge it or not, I am a Christian and I should represent Him right; and just like any other ambassador, I do have to keep the communication lines between us open so that I always know not to go against His will.
If He truly is the most important aspect of my life, I should remember His values, the things He holds dear; I should set aside my pride for humility, I should remember to love even when its oh so much easier to hate, I should remember that I am a lamp, a candle, a light in this world and everything I do reflects on Him.
That reminds me of a story I read somewhere once; a new pastor had come to town and on his first bus trip, the driver gave him more change than he should have gotten. The pastor thought whether to return the money, for it was a paltry amount, or just consider it God’s providence. When he did finally return it, the driver smiled and said, “I was thinking of coming to church, and just hoping that this time we would have an honest man in the pulpit.”
So now I put the same question to you; what do you consider most important to you? Is it any one person? Your job, your studies, your family? Think about it before you come up with an answer. Is it God? If not, it should be, over and above anything else.
In Matt. 10:37, Jesus effectively says, he who loves family more than Me is not worthy of Me (paraphrased), that doesn’t make much sense to many people since after all, Christ does preach a Gospel of Love, but consider Solomon, a King so blessed by God, and yet because of his wives, because of his family, he was drawn away from God, that should not have happened if he always put God first.
And if your answer to the question is God, ask yourself, is it really?
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