NINE: JOIN GOD'S FAMILY OF FRIENDS
"God’s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15 God’s Word).
1. God wants you to find out. He offers you a family of friends and friends who are family—His church. “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave Him great pleasure” (Eph. 1:5 NLT).When you transfer your trust into Christ, He not only pardons you; He places you in His family of friends.
When you transfer your trust into Christ, He not only pardons you; He places you in His family of friends.
2. You didn’t pick me. I didn’t pick you. You may not like me. I may not like you. But since God picked and likes us both, we are family. And we treat each other as friends. C. S. Lewis said, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one’.
3. If similar experiences create friendships, shouldn’t the church overflow with friendships? With whom do you have more in common than fellow believers? Amazed by the same manger, stirred by the same Bible, saved by the same cross, and destined for the same home. Can you not echo the words of the psalmist? “I am a friend to everyone who fears You, to anyone who obeys Your orders” (Ps. 119:63 NCV).
4. You aren’t God’s poetry. I’m not God’s poetry. We are God’s poetry. Poetry demands variety. “God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves His purposes through them all” (1 Cor. 12:6 Phillips). God uses all types to type His message. Alone, we are meaningless symbols on a page. But collectively, we inspire. “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it” (1 Cor. 12:27 NLT).
5. God heals His family through His family. In the church we use our gifts to love each other, honor one another, keep an eye on troublemakers, and carry each other’s burdens. Do you need encouragement, prayers, or a hospitable God entrusts the church to purvey home? Consider the church God’s treatment center for the common life.
Don’t miss it. No one is strong all the time. Don’t miss the place to find your place and heal your hurts.
TEN: TANK YOUR REPUTATION
"Jesus... made Himself of no reputation... He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross" (Philippians 2:5, 7–8).
“Joseph . . . took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her first-born Son. And he called His name JESUS” (Matt. 1:24–25).
1. Joseph tanked his reputation. He swapped his tsadiq diploma for a pregnant fiancée and an illegitimate son and made the big decision of discipleship. He placed God’s plan ahead of his own. Would you be willing to do the same? God grants us an uncommon life to the degree we surrender our common one. “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life” (Matt. 16:25 NLT). Would you forfeit your reputation to see Jesus born into your world
One can’t, at once, promote two reputations. Promote God’s and forget yours. Or promote yours and forget God’s. We must choose.
2. Jesus did too. He “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7–8).
3. Christ abandoned his reputation. No one in Nazareth saluted Him as the Son of God. God hunts for those who will do likewise—Josephs through whom He can deliver Christ into the world. Deflating inflated egos is so important to God that He offers to help.
SECTION THREE: EVERYDAY OF YOUR LIFE
1. An observer wondered why Michaelangelo focused such attention on the details of the corners of the chapel. “No one will ever see them,” he suggested. Michelangelo’s reply? “God will”. The artist must have known this passage: “Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (Eph. 6:7 NLT).
2. God’s cure for the common life includes a change in our reporting lines. In this final section I remind you that we have two bosses: one who signs our checks and one who saves our souls. The second has keen interest in our workaday world. What if everyone worked with God in mind? Suppose no one worked to satisfy self or please the bottom line but everyone worked to please God.
3. Imagine if everyone worked for the audience of One. Every nurse, thoughtful. Every officer, careful. Every professor, insightful. Every salesperson, delightful. Every teacher, hopeful. Every lawyer, skillful. Every corner of every chapel, glistening. Impossible? Not entirely. All we need is someone to start a worldwide revolution. Might as well be us.
ELEVEN: TAKE YOUR JOB AND LOVE IT
"My heart took delight in all my work" (Ecclesiastes 2:10 NIV).
Two workers. One pumped up. One worn-out. The first, fruitful. The second, futile. To which do you relate?
1. Many people dread their work! If you’re one of them, what can you do? Change careers? Perhaps. Find one that better fits your design. But until you change, how do you survive? You still have bills to pay and obligations to meet. The problem might be less the occupation and more the outlook toward it. Before you change professions, try this: change your attitude toward your profession.
He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. He climbed into the boat that was [Peter’s] and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, He taught the crowd. (vv. 2–3 MSG).
2. Jesus claimed Peter’s boat. He didn’t request the use of it. Christ didn’t fill out an application or ask permission; He simply boarded the boat and began to preach. He can do that, you know. All boats belong to Christ. Your boat is where you spend your day, make your living, and to a large degree live your life. To us all, Jesus says, “Your work is my work”.
3. God’s eyes fall on the work of our hands. He blurs the secular and sacred. With God, our work matters as much as our worship. Indeed, work can be worship. Peter, the boat owner, later wrote: “You are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, His very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God” (1 Pet. 2:9 NLT).
“Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus” (Col. 3:17 MSG).
4. Men and women must work. That is as certain as the sun. But we may work grudgingly or we may work gratefully. We may work as people or machines. There is no work so rude that we may not exalt it; no work so impassive that we may not breathe a soul into it; no work so dull that we may not enliven it if we understand that what we are doing is service for our Lord Jesus Christ (Henry Giles).
For Peter and his nets, for you and your work, the promise is the same: everything changes when you give Jesus your boat.
TWELVE: PAUSE ON PURPOSE
"Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while" (Mark 6:31).
1. Christ repeatedly escaped the noise of the crowd in order to hear the voice of God. After His forty-day pause in the wilderness, the people of Capernaum “tried to keep Him from leaving them; but He said to them, ‘I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent’” (Luke 4:42–43).
Jesus said no to good things so He could say yes to the right thing.
Renewal began when I paused on purpose.
2. What about you? Do you sense a disconnect between your design and daily duties? Are you neglecting your strengths? God may want you to leave your Capernaum, but you’re staying. Or He may want you to stay, and you’re leaving. How can you know unless you mute the crowd and meet with Jesus in a deserted place?
3. “Deserted” need not mean desolate, just quiet. Simply a place to which you, like Jesus, depart. “Now when it was day, He departed” (Luke 4:42). “Depart” presupposes a decision on the part of Jesus. “I need to get away. To think. To ponder. To rechart my course.” He determined the time, selected a place. With resolve, He pressed the pause button on His life.
C. G. Jung once remarked, ‘Hurry is not of the devil; it is the devil’.
4. But Jesus stands against the tide, countering the crescendo with these words: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28). Follow the example of Jesus, who “often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16).
God rested after sixdays of work, and the world didn’t collapse. What makes us think it will if we do? (Or do we fear it won’t?)
5. Follow Jesus into the desert. A thousand and one voices will scream like banana-tree monkeys telling you not to. Ignore them. Heed Him. Quit your work. Contemplate His. Accept your Maker’s invitation: “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).
THIRTEEN: TRUST LITTLE DEEDS
"Do not despise these small beginnings" (Zechariah 4:10 NLT).
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches”. Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount [three measures] of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough” (Matt. 13:31–33 NLT).
1. Don’t we need a reminder today? We, at times, fear the smallness of Jesus’s story. Our fear might keep us from seed sowing. Can the Sunday school account of Jesus hold its own in the Ivy League? Do terms like “sin,” “salvation,” and “redemption” stand a chance in this sophisticated day of humanism and relativism?
Just do something and see what happens.
God does uncommon works through common deeds.
2. What difference will my work make? God’s answer: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin” (Zech. 4:10 NLT). Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else.
3. Against a towering giant, a brook pebble seems futile. But God used it to topple Goliath. Compared to the tithes of the wealthy, a widow’s coins seem puny. But Jesus used them to inspire us. And in contrast with sophisticated priests and powerful Roman rulers, a cross-suspended carpenter seemed nothing but a waste of life. Few Jewish leaders mourned His death. Only a handful of friends buried His body. The people turned their attention back to the temple.
4. Small deeds can change the world. Sow the mustard seed. Bury the leaven lump. Make the call. Write the check. Organize the committee. Drop some gum from your airplane. Sixty years from now another soldier might follow your example.
Moses had a staff. David had a sling. Samson had a jawbone. Rahab had a string. Mary had some ointment. Aaron had a rod. Dorcas had a needle. All were used by God. What do you have?
5. God inhabits the tiny seed, empowers the tiny deed. He cures the common life by giving no common life, by offering no common gifts. “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can”. Don’t discount the smallness of your deeds.
FOURTEEN: DECODE YOUR KID'S CODE
"I am your Creator. You were in my care even before you were born" (Isaiah 44:2 CEV).
1. Each year God gives millions of parents a gift, a brand-new baby. They tend to expect oranges, cellos, and plumbing tools. Heaven tends to distribute tomatoes, accordions, and paint supplies. Moms and dads face a decision. Make our children in our images? Or release our children to follow their God-given identities?
Like no one else, parents can unlock the door to a child’s uncommonness.
2. God’s Word urges us to. Listen closely to this maternity-ward reminder: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it” (Prov. 22:6). Salvation is a work of God. Godly parents can prepare the soil and sow the seed, but God gives the growth (1 Cor. 3:6). Moms and dads soften hearts, but can’t control them. Show them the path? Yes. Force them to take it? No.
3. The phrase “train up” descends from a root word that means to develop a thirst. Hebrew midwives awakened the thirst of a newborn by dipping a finger in a bowl of crushed dates andnplacing it in the baby’s mouth. To “train up,” then, means to awaken thirst. Parents awaken thirst “in the way [the child] should go.” The small word “in” means “in keeping with” or “in cooperation with,” suggesting that babies come with preprogrammed hard drives.
4. The archer arches the weapon, setting his aim on a target. By the time your child is born, God has done the same. He has already “bent” your child in a certain direction. He hands you a preset bow that you secure until the day of release. Raise your child in the way “he should go.” Read your child’s God- designed itinerary. Don’t see your child as a blank slate awaiting your pen, but as a written book awaiting your study. The Amplified Bible translates this verse: “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it”.
5. God doesn’t give parents manuscripts to write, but codes to decode. Study your kids while you can. The greatest gift you can give your children is not your riches, but revealing to them their own.
FIFTEEN: DON'T BE TOO BIG TO DO SOMETHING SMALL
"As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another" (1 Peter 4:10 NASB).
Jesus’s self-assigned purpose statement reads: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
1. God’s cure for the common life includes a strong dose of servanthood. Timely reminder. As you celebrate your unique design, be careful. Don’t so focus on what you love to do that you neglect what needs to be done.
2. The world needs servants. People like Jesus, who “did not come to be served, but to serve.” He chose remote Nazareth over center-stage Jerusalem, His dad’s carpentry shop over a marble-columned palace, and three decades of anonymity over a life of popularity. Jesus came to serve. He selected prayer over sleep, the wilderness over the Jordan, irascible apostles over obedient angels.
“He set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion” (Phil. 2:7–8 MSG).
3. Let’s follow His example. Let’s “put on the apron of humility, to serve one another” (1 Pet. 5:5 TEV). Jesus entered the world to serve. We can enter our jobs, our homes, our churches. Servanthood requires no unique skill or seminary degree. Regardless of your strengths, training, or church tenure, you can. . . Love the overlooked. When you talk to the lonely student, befriend the weary mom, you love Jesus. He dresses in the garb of the overlooked and ignored. “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was Me—you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40 MSG).
You can do that. Even if your sweet spot has nothing to do with encouraging others, the cure for the common life involves loving the overlooked.
“If you think you are too important to help someone in need, you are only fooling yourself. You are really a nobody” (Gal. 6:3 NLT).
4. Every day do something you don’t want to do. Pick up someone else’s trash. Surrender your parking place. Call the long-winded relative. Carry the cooler. Doesn’t have to be a big thing. Helen Keller once told the Tennessee legislature that when she was young, she had longed to do great things and could not, so she decided to do small things in a great way. Don’t be too big to do something small. “Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for Him is a waste of time or effort” (1 Cor. 15:58 MSG).
5. A good action not only brings good fortune, it brings God’s attention. He notices the actions of servants. He sent His Son to be one. When you and I crest Mount Zion and hear the applause of saints, we’ll realize this: hands pushed us up the mountain too. The pierced hands of Jesus Christ, the greatest servant who ever lived.
CONCLUSIONS
SWEET SPOT: TWO PEOPLE WHO FOUND THEIRS
"You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God" (1 Peter 2:9 God’s Word).
“This is a chance to marry your gifts with God’s call. When you do that, you enter a zone—the zone in which you were made to live” (Bill Hybels).
“I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” (Jer. 29:11 NASB).
1. “When the work of my hands makes little girls smile, that’s where my heart is”. Not a bad sweet spot: using the work of her hands to bring smiles to people’s faces.
2. When our gifts illuminate Him and help His children, don’t you think He beams! Let’s spend a lifetime making Him proud.
• Use your uniqueness to do so
You exited the womb called. Don’t see yourself as a product of your parents’ DNA, but rather as a brand-new idea from heaven.
• Make a big deal out of God. Become who you are for Him!
Has he not transferred you from a dull, death-destined life to a rich, heaven-bound adventure? Remember, “you were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God” (1 Pet. 2:9 God’s Word). And do so every day of your life.
A common life? Heaven knows no such phrase. With God, every day matters, every person counts. And that includes you.
3. You do something no one else does, in a manner no one else does it. And when your uniqueness meets God’s purpose, both of you will rejoice . . . forever.
THE CURE OF COMMON LIFE
MAX LUCADO
No comments:
Post a Comment