"Quit telling me what to do!!"
Ain't that the initial reaction by those who have some authority figure all up in their grill, tellin' 'em what to do .... or not do? Sure it is.
Gets worse when it seems they won't let up, like when they keep tellin' ya over 'n over 'n over again "don't waste your life."
"Awww, shut up."
Truth is, we need it. We need remindin' that life is important, that it has purpose, that it shouldn't be wasted. Now, I'm not one for gettin' all up in your grill 'n all, but hey, if the word fits ...... ya know?
Dropping this street punk persona, the truth is, I've felt like I've been on a "don't waste your life" journey with the Lord. It started out small but appears to be gathering momentum as time goes on. But first, some background ....
Noone argues the Lord's wisdom .... after all, He's God. He knows everything. He knows you.
He knows me.
There's a "philosophy" I have about the Lord and how He influences people. It's my view that God operates well within the human experience. He doesn't have to .... but He does. What do I mean?
It goes like this - He knows how I will respond to certain things. He knows if a phrase will cause me to be angry or sad. He knows if a video or song will lift me up or burden me with conviction or possible guilt. He knows how I will respond if a person acts towards me in a certain way.
He knows all this .... and uses it.
He uses it to steer my thinking in a certain direction. He uses it to deepen convictions and strengthen passions. He uses it to trip me up or stand me firm.
He uses it ..... and I think He's using it now. Now back to my 'journey' account ...
Through a variety of influences, seemingly intended to draw my thoughts and my heart in a certain direction, it appears that God is on a mission - to convict me enough that I would stop wasting my life and start living the one He has put in me.
How's He doing that (if in fact it is even Him)? Simple - by making me more and more aware .... and convicted .... about the number of people who have yet to answer the question of eternity and, equally important (I think), about the number of people who have not come into a more intimate experience of Him despite a profession of faith in Christ. People are flailing about in a quagmire of chaos and far too many of us who supposedly hold the key to their rescue go about living our lives as though their plight doesn't matter.
The world is dying. In one sense, it's already dead and we, the so-called living, are merely walking about a giant morgue or graveyard. So the question is - what am I doing to help meet the obvious need?
I can't help but think God is saying to me "Don't waste your life." Taking the conviction of that statement upon myself, I can't help but add "yeah, don't waste my life because, if I do, I could be wasting someone else's."
Dear Lord, help me to discern convictions that come from You rather than simply from a well-meaning but ineffectual, bleeding-heart view of the world. Place your Spirit in me, taking me into all that You have designed for me to be a part of. Help me to be honest - with You, with others, with myself. You have invited us to participate with You in the building of your kingdom. Help us, Lord, to be good labourers, rewarded according to your kindness. To You be all honour, and glory, and power, forever and ever. Amen.
