Don't be stubborn and immovable!
Alot of times we hear scripture from God and if what we read is challenging to us we react. We usually react in three different ways.
#1 We reject it.
I will be honest here. This picture of the Proverbs 31 woman can make me angry. I thnk to myself It's just not fair that God created woman this way ...so I am just gonna pick and chose what I do and don't listen to and kinda make up my own mind about what he is "really" saying. We may convince ourselves that God wants us to change with the times so that we can be a cool Christian. Sometimes I even think to my self is he belittling us women? But I just know he is not because he loves us and when we follow his way we live in harmony. It takes walking against the flow to live as God has called us. We can fight it but he made us and it's his decision.
#2 We try way too hard to be super perfect and copy the scripture on our own by our works. We cannot do it no matter how late we stay up and how much our knuckles bleed.
We cannot do what God has called us to do alone. Once we realize this and really get it we can start the road to victory!
#3 We accept it and fall on our knees for help to fulfill it. It’s a life of faith. It's a life of total surrender. It's a choice. It's the only way to live a life contolled by God. We can, and some will infact choose to not fear the Lord and be mighty on our own. But then like it says in Proverbs 1 verse 31, “therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own way.
If we live selfish lives now, we will eventually reap the fruit of our own hands. We will see that like in the world our families fall apart, finances fall apart, things just start to fail, and it’s because we’ve rejected God’s counsel for our lives. We’re reaping the fruit of our own hands.
But opposite of that if we live selfless lives following Gods counsel he promises us so much! I know that alot of us never get to hear words of approval from this world and it can be hard, it can hurt. But if we live this life by the power of the Holy Spirit, one day when we arrive to that party in Heaven! we will hear those words of approval, ahhhh those dream words, “Well done, good and faithful servant!
Ha! Just imagine that after party...I hope to see you there!
I am reading the daily posts and letting it sink in ~ prayerfully, of course. There is a lot to think about especially at this crossroad in my life as I leave public school teaching (next year) and enter the next phase of my life. I do think that good teachers do give of themselves selflessly! I will need to reflect how I can give of myself selflessly post-teaching. Just as important is how I can participate more actively to improve my domestic life with my spouse. Otherwise, I tend to close myself off in my own little world such as by spending way too much time on the internet, etc. He does the same with his TV watching. So it's up to me to forge more "together time" - and it does require that I give of my time selflessly! Lots to think about and act upon....
ReplyDeleteI understand about teaching but that's a job we do to get paid. Giving selflessly would be teaching without pay don't ya think? ;)
ReplyDeleteWhen we search for what God wants us to do, it may not feel glamorous and comfortable at first. We may say yeah no way that's not for me. I urge you and Ralph in your retirement days to not only travel as you have planned but to find away to connect with the needy of this world. We stand by so easily and watch people hurting out there. We need to connect with the least of them. Not the ones that need help that we already love for in our family but those that we could really care to not think of. We can come up with excuses as to why we deserve a vacation and stuff but we will find in the bible that when God speaks that God calls us to much more then that. My goal is right now I am trying to search for and find poor families that need me that need hope and need the gospel brought to them. We are also going to support more children world wide that need fresh water and food and school. Many ministries out there can use volunteers so that's a way to start. I remember you used to work for Habitat for Humanity. That's a good one. With a spouse or even freinds for that matter, the 50/50 rule is a big flaw. As a Christian if we each give 100% and strive for that then who will go without?
A lot of what we do as teachers is giving selflessly. Otherwise we would not spend time before and after school working with kids (ex: I tutor kids for no pay).
ReplyDeleteI expect to work as a volunteer again once I retire. Not sure where yet though. I would like to return to Habitat for Humanity but we've also talked about joining the Peace Corps. We'll see...there are so many opportunities out there to give of oneself!