As I have posted previously, my slow journey through the Bible has landed me in the book of Judges and this book has grown a little depressing to me in recent years.
Today as perused chapter five, I begin to see the whole book as something of a tennis match. You know how at a tennis match, it's fun to watch the fans with their heads lolling back and forth as they try to keep track of the ball? I think that's the way I get from watching these Israelites bound back and forth from vice to victory; from corrupted to conquerors. . . their conquests are quite thrilling, but the joy of winning only serves to increase the frustration when they slide back.
I said, I get tired of them throwing away all their winnings every chapter or so.
My life has been that way at times.
I have grown up in charismatic-pentecostal churches : emotion is a part of our worship. Worship is not - or at least shouldn't be - strictly emotional, but I believe that worship with one's "whole heart" will involve the emotions as well.
When the emotions get involved, it can make for some very thrilling experiences - the trouble is that those thrills can be short-lived if there is no foundational substance there.
A great deal of my younger days were spent going from spiritual "high" to devastating "low" over and over again and all within the matter of a few days.
I spent all of my energies trying to keep from failing or trying to get myself picked back up after I had failed.
Those are the times that I look like the nation of Israel in the book of Judges.
On the other hand, being older now, I tend to keep my emotions in check. I am cautious of people that are "just trying to stir my emotions". But the result is that the thrills are - well, not that thrilling.
So once again, the book of Judges is just not much fun because it paints an accurate picture of us in the world today.
But I believe that God is very balanced.
I believe that the life He chooses for us is one of staying in His presence - close to Him - enjoying the thrill and warmth of that relationship. Knowing Him and experiencing His joy!
That may mean that we don't have as many of those prodigal-son-returning-to-the-Father-all-smelly-and-broken-and stuff experiences; but at the same time we can enjoy the wonderful position that the prodigals' older brother could have been enjoying if he hadn't been so bitter.
Remember what the Father told that older son ... "son, you are always with me..."
That's where I want to be. . . "always with Him..."
You can read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15.
3 comments:
I believe that one of the saddest things in life is an unemotional, dispassionate Christian.
If in your post you are simply referring to falling into sin, then repenting, I would agree we are probably better off not participating in that.
But I believe even through this God was teaching Israel invaluable lessons they could have learned in no other way.
And just like the older son, we will never appreciate the warmth of the father's house without experiencing a bit of the coldness of the gutter.
Likewise, we absolutely need the highs and lows, victories and defeats of normal life.
Take our experience with Madison's birth for example. My flesh would loathe having to go through that again. But spiritually it was one of the most rewarding and faith building episodes of my life.
Those circumstances taught me more than I could ever learn from a liftime of lessons or sermons.
So I believe that, just as with the stock market, the ups and downs in our faithwalk are how our assets grow.
King David's life is probably the best example I can think of. Without his struggles with sin, he wouldn't have understood the grace of God as well. Therefore he wouldn't have been able to communicate that to us.
Peace
CjW
Thanks. Those are words of wisdom.
I was referring more to the drifting in and out.
Instead of spending so much of myself just trying to "get back" to some place, I want to stay.
I want to dwell in nearness to him so that when life happens (like the case with Madison), I won't need to repair my relationship with God first.
I know that sin is going to be there "crouching at my door" but I want to be on offense rather than defense. I want to make him nervous instead of the other way around.
I think I would prefer to learn my lessons at Jesus' feet rather than having to learn them in the school of hard knocks. . . "life" is a pretty ratchety old school marm.
I love you, brother, thanks for being a friend!
I get where your coming from and I think we agree. Thanks for the thoughtful discussion.
Love you, too.
We miss ya'll-alot!
Chris
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