(Please accept my apologies for the tongue-twisting nature of the title for this post. Try it!)
A quote hanging my office:
"We cannot possibly flatter the Almighty by hurrying into His presence, flinging a song and a prayer at Him, and hurrying out of church back into our hassled lifestyles. God is never flattered by our sanctified exhaustion." ~Calvin Miller in Into the Depths of God
When we gather with the Body of Christ for Sunday service, we ought to be bringing with us what we've gained from our week of walking with God. A gathering of God's people should be a culmination of shared experiences with the Savior. Our joy in corporate worship should swell and fill the air! We should eagerly receive from the Word of God as it is delivered and earnestly respond to its message.
It is shameful the way God is treated as merely something penciled in to our weekly planner. If all you need is a Sunday pick-me-up, then stay home and drink an extra latte. A true faith is defined by a daily walk. We should follow Christ through rigors of our day to day life, not just plan on meeting up with Him Sunday morning.
And speaking of our daily lives, it's rather unChristian to run around hurried, harried, stressed out and stretched thin (some people really are, some just like to fake it for sympathy). Where is the Prince of Peace in a lifestyle that keeps us overworked, overfed, under-rested and spiritually undernourished?
A quote hanging my office:
"We cannot possibly flatter the Almighty by hurrying into His presence, flinging a song and a prayer at Him, and hurrying out of church back into our hassled lifestyles. God is never flattered by our sanctified exhaustion." ~Calvin Miller in Into the Depths of God
When we gather with the Body of Christ for Sunday service, we ought to be bringing with us what we've gained from our week of walking with God. A gathering of God's people should be a culmination of shared experiences with the Savior. Our joy in corporate worship should swell and fill the air! We should eagerly receive from the Word of God as it is delivered and earnestly respond to its message.It is shameful the way God is treated as merely something penciled in to our weekly planner. If all you need is a Sunday pick-me-up, then stay home and drink an extra latte. A true faith is defined by a daily walk. We should follow Christ through rigors of our day to day life, not just plan on meeting up with Him Sunday morning.
And speaking of our daily lives, it's rather unChristian to run around hurried, harried, stressed out and stretched thin (some people really are, some just like to fake it for sympathy). Where is the Prince of Peace in a lifestyle that keeps us overworked, overfed, under-rested and spiritually undernourished?
If anything is worth spending ourselves completely for, it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but even then wisdom would recommend a balance. One must rest and recoup enough to work most effectively.
A lifestyle that is wearing us down physically, emotionally and spiritually when chosen and not forced upon us by extenuating circumstances is, well, wrong. Boundaries must be set in our lives and the excess trimmed off, if for no other reason than to make richer our relationship with Christ.
2 comments:
Once again, great post brother.
Prodigal - thanks so much for the encouragement.
Post a Comment