Yesterday's sermon at my church was entitled "It Requires More." Our pastor spoke about how we don't get the results we desire from God, but continue to offer Him the same routine of prayer and sacrifice. The same once/day morning prayer, the same praise, the same offering, the same standard of living. There's been a lot on my heart lately - family issues, the baby, work, friends who are lost, and I've been asking a lot more from God. But I haven't really offered Him more. Now I don't believe in simple retribution (the belief that it's a one-to-one trade-off between you and God) because that would undermine His grace and bring us back under the law. But I believe that fostering a good relationship requires effort by both parties involved. Above all, this is a relationship with our Creator and giving more of ourselves goes beyond a requirement - we should do it because He's worthy.
In Matthew 17: 14-21, Jesus heals an epileptic after the disciples were unable to. When they asked why they couldn't, He tells them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting." To these men, who had been with Jesus everyday over an extended period of time, who had given up everything to follow Him, He basically told them, "it requires more." We could never do enough to repay God for what He's done but we can at least give Him our best.
God forgive me for offering You anything less than the best I have. Grant me the desire to offer more of myself to you - in study, in prayer & in deed. God you're worthy of my best and I sincerely want to give it to you. Remove any complacent and idle spirit within me that would choose TV over You. Thank you for another day and let me live this day totally dedicated and focused on You.
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Good food for thought. Reminded me of a sermon I heard recently, "The Cry That Gets God's Attention", the account of Blind Bartimaeus. After the rebuke of the crowd Bartimaeus continued to cry out until Jesus acknowledged his cries. It was obvious that this man was blind but yet Jesus asked what it was that he wanted. Would he ask for less than God’s best? Perhaps he would ask for a softer mat to sit on or a more affluent, sympathetic crowd from which to beg alms. After all, how much is too much? And yes, sometimes "it requires more". One had to go wash seven times in the Jordan, while another had mud placed in his eyes and had to wash in the pool of Siloam (hmmm…wonder if that’s how they coined the phrase, “here’s mud in your eye”?, … nah), others had to show themselves to the priests and so it goes. Which is more important, the faith of the healer or the healee? Maybe the real purpose of God’s provision is the need behind the need. For the sake of the crowd Lazarus was raised from the dead, probably to Lazarus’ great dismay. I’m convinced that many miracles occur not so much because of our faith but in spite of our faith, in order to grow our faith. The greater faith allows us to trust God regardless of the outcome. When others get healed and we don’t. When we finally realize that we never achieve enough seniority to manipulate or twist the arm of God to perform. A faith that confirms that “His grace is sufficient” and we’re okay with that. A faith that teaches and teaches until we have learned to be content in whatever state or condition we may find ourselves, that in the midst of our prison under the shadow of the guillotine, we can know that we do not have to look for another Messiah for He is the one and only. Can God trust us with a constantly breaking air conditioner for the sake of ministering to the repairman? Can God trust us with the illness of a loved one so that someone else in the ICU waiting room can be the recipient of His comfort and consolation by our hands? Maybe today is the day that He can trust me or maybe I’ll cross my arms, stamp my feet and pout………
ReplyDeleteWow man, that's good stuff - can God trust us with undesirable circumstances in order that He may get glory from it. Good stuff indeed. I, too, am glad that many miracles, probably most of them, occur in spite of our faith. 'preciate your perspective
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