October 24, 2008
I
grew up in a small farming community in West Texas. I remember every year how
the birds and geese would flock to the lake by our house and within a few hours
from what appeared to be a full lake, would now be empty.
There
were a plethora of geese and birds, a veritable cornucopia of honkers, a whole
hockey sock of waterfowl, well, you get the idea. Lots of them.
An
hour later, not a goose or bird on the lake. Nary a one. Zilch. Zip. Naught a
one. Nada.
Now
that's not uncommon as the geese begin to flock for their trip down to warmer
climates for the winter. They'll come over for a drink, a swim and a bath and
then head back to the fields to fill up on grain and spend the night.
It
reminded me of cars in a church parking lot. An hour before the service, there
are a few, ten minutes before and there's not a parking space to be had. We
wouldn't want to be too early, after all we might have to talk with someone or
spend some quiet time with God. Can't have that on a Sunday morning. Ten minutes
after the service the parking lot is virtually empty again.
We
come for our little splash about in "religion" for the week, then,
hurry away for something else. Perhaps it's to beat the rush at the nearby
restaurants or for the kid's sporting events, or maybe the game on television.
I'm not sure where they all go, but it certainly doesn't take long.
It
breaks my heart. You see Christianity isn't about religion, or ritual or duty.
It's not about rules of saying the right thing or looking good. It's not about
making business contacts on a Sunday morning.
It's
all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A deep intimate
relationship with someone you want to spend eternity with. A passionate platonic
love relationship with your best friend.
It's
about love, peace, joy, forgiveness and contentment. It's about loving Him so
much that you want to share His love with others in words and in actions. It's
about a relationship so great that you want everyone to know Him. It's about
growing to be more like Him in our everyday lives, our relationships. It's about
maturing into the people that God designed us to be.
You
can't do that in an hour’s (or five depending on your denomination) worth of
worship on a Sunday Morning (or Friday night or whenever your group meets). It's
an ongoing thing.
It
involves prayer and time in the Word. It's seeing people through His eyes and
loving them even if you don't like them or the things they do.
It's
exciting. It takes your breath away. It's beautiful beyond description, to
marvelous for words. It's too wonderful for comprehension, like nothing you've
ever seen or heard.
I
think you get the idea. If that's not what you find it to be, you're missing out
on the greatest thing ever created.
He's
made us new.
So
from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once
regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is
from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry
of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not
counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of
reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making
his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God. 2
Corinthians 5:16-21 NIV
Any
relationship worth having involves spending time with the one you say you care
for. Remember your first love is the one who loved you enough to die for you!
Isn’t it time you spent more than the time your spending. Time is an
investment, an irreplaceable commodity!
I
pray for you God is more than just a Sunday relationship and may you learn to
invest as much time with Him as you do some of the things in your life, that you
probably shouldn’t even be doing!
Until
next time, may your heart be set aflame for Jesus and the Holy Spirit burn in
you so hot you can hardly bear it and You do show by your actions you love Him
with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
Be
blessed
Darrel
Mason