“How blind is the delusion that the greatness of a man is measured by his living; rather, it’s always by his giving.”
― Christian Hunt, The Dawn of Grace
2 KINGS 15-17
34To this day they persist in their former practices. They neither worship the Lord nor adhere to the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands that the Lord gave the descendants of Jacob, whom he named Israel. 35When the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, he commanded them: “Do not worship any other gods or bow down to them, serve them or sacrifice to them. 36But the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt with mighty power and outstretched arm, is the one you must worship. To him you shall bow down and to him offer sacrifices. 37You must always be careful to keep the decrees and regulations, the laws and commands he wrote for you. Do not worship other gods. 38Do not forget the covenant I have made with you, and do not worship other gods. 39Rather, worship the Lord your God; it is he who will deliver you from the hand of all your enemies.”
JOHN 6:1-21
12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.
14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. JOURNAL
What does God want from us and why? That is a question that has inserted itself into my brain on more than a few occasions. Sometimes life seems pretty pointless, unfair, random and meaningless. Often it can seem that what I do really doesn't matter. However if I believe scripture then I have to embrace the reality that everything matters but it matters in a way that is very different from what I learn from the world.
The ultimate goal in life as a believer is not to become a crowned king. The old testament and new both very clearly dispute the glory and honor of getting the title of King. So if obtaining all the privileges and trappings of kingship is not the goal then what is? From what I read...serving God and loving others is about as simple as I can define my purpose here on this planet. To serve God means to be fully and completely obedient to him. It also means that I seek to know his character, his intentions, his ways and that I constantly seek to do my very best to be my very best. The very best that he created me to be.
Secondly that in doing my very best...the result is that I love those that he has put in my sphere. That I care for, and contribute to those in my care and in my sphere of influence, in helping them to be their very best. That's it...it has nothing to do with a trophy or a title or being recognized or making a certain amount of money. Although those things may be a result of me being my best...they are not the reason nor are they the reward. The reward is simply knowing in my heart that I have given and done my best and that I have helped others do the same.
This, I believe, is the "peace that passes understanding", this is the joy of living and following God and it is a joy that can exist whatever my external circumstance...whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, accepted or rejected, loved or hated, powerful or weak, winner or loser...the circumstance does not matter. What matters is the answer to the question: Is God my only God, do I serve him, do I seek him and do I love others? If the answer is yes then my life is a glorious success. If the answer is no then I have failed in every way...
MATTHEW 25:31-46
The ultimate goal in life as a believer is not to become a crowned king. The old testament and new both very clearly dispute the glory and honor of getting the title of King. So if obtaining all the privileges and trappings of kingship is not the goal then what is? From what I read...serving God and loving others is about as simple as I can define my purpose here on this planet. To serve God means to be fully and completely obedient to him. It also means that I seek to know his character, his intentions, his ways and that I constantly seek to do my very best to be my very best. The very best that he created me to be.
Secondly that in doing my very best...the result is that I love those that he has put in my sphere. That I care for, and contribute to those in my care and in my sphere of influence, in helping them to be their very best. That's it...it has nothing to do with a trophy or a title or being recognized or making a certain amount of money. Although those things may be a result of me being my best...they are not the reason nor are they the reward. The reward is simply knowing in my heart that I have given and done my best and that I have helped others do the same.
This, I believe, is the "peace that passes understanding", this is the joy of living and following God and it is a joy that can exist whatever my external circumstance...whether rich or poor, sick or healthy, accepted or rejected, loved or hated, powerful or weak, winner or loser...the circumstance does not matter. What matters is the answer to the question: Is God my only God, do I serve him, do I seek him and do I love others? If the answer is yes then my life is a glorious success. If the answer is no then I have failed in every way...
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”MATTHEW 25:31-46
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