Thursday, February 17, 2011

Don't Take Things for Granted (and other thoughts related to it)

"To take someone or something for granted"



"to expect someone or something to be always available to serve in some way without thanks or recognition; to value someone or something too lightly".
 
We all do it at some point in our life. We take things for granted. If you are over forty you are probably realizing the truth of this idiom. When we are young the world is full of promise, hope and "security". We take our health, relationship and our futures for granted. We value them all too lightly. It is only when we are faced with illness, death or loss of job that we better understand our attitudes towards the things and the people in our life.
 
I sometimes wonder if we take God for granted. If you are a follower of Jesus then you probably are familiar with the promises of God. Promises like "I will never leave you or forsake you" or "My God will supply all you need according to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus". The Bible is full of the promises of God.
 
Do we take those for granted, do we truly value his promises and our relationship with God? I know in my own life that there have been times that I have carelessly lived for my own interest with no thought of what God would have me do. In my pride and arrogance, I would reason in my mind that since I am a Christian and have God in my life that any and all decision I make must be right. WRONG! Even as a follower of Jesus I must second by second, moment by moment surrender my will to His. I am nothing on my own and my strength is only found in Jesus.
 
Let's not take the things and relationships around us for granted. Let's not take our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for granted. May we live each day intentionally giving value to the things God has given us.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Sin ~ Missing the Standard

The subject of sin is never fun or entertaining. We see the effects of sin all around us in lives that have been shattered and broken by the destructive nature of those who choose to live ungodly, selfish lives. There is a standard that God has set and each day we fail at some point to live up to that standard. We try to be good and do the right things but our efforts fail to hit the target of God's standard.

In Romans 6 Paul teaches extensively on our relationship and attitude with sin, Him and grace. Our relationship to sin is a dead relationship. We are not alive to sin and it's desire to master us or rule us in our mortal body. We are no longer slaves to unrighteousness, nor should we offer our body as instruments of unrighteousness. Sin not dealt with will only bring about spiritual death. In Christ we are dead to sin.

Yet our attitude toward sin is sometimes at conflict with the reality that we are dead to it. If we are not careful, we will fall into the trap that since there is grace we can sin all we want. That is false thinking and presumes upon the grace of God. If we are dead to sin how can we live a lifestyle of sin and wickedness toward God? The other fallacy in verse 15 of Romans 6 is to say we can sin all we want because we are not under law but grace. If we sin, there are consequences we will face. Who are we going to be slaves too? Sin or God? In verse 21 Paul asks this question "What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!" The payment for a lifestyle of sin and rejecting the grace of God is spiritual death. The other side of that same coin is an invitation to receive the free gift of eternal life found only in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Anything we do in word or deed or thought that fails to meet the standard that God has set is sin. In my next post I will be looking at our relationship with Jesus and the necessity of being like God.