Monday, July 16, 2012
296 - Don't Worry, Be Faithful
Spirituality Column #296
July 17, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers – Zionsville
Author of Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
How? Jesus was 100 percent about giving. We ask “What’s in it for me?”
You want to be greatest in the Kingdom? Be the least. You want to be first? Be last (verse 30). Get on your face in complete humility with faith in Christ and praise God. There is no way to trade for the grace of Christ, because grace is all about giving. Like my pastor friend John Samples said, “When all you want to do is give, you will never be disappointed.” That’s true independence.
Larry doesn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?” His faith is sufficient, and he knows he has nothing to trade for the grace of Christ. The world wants Larry to worry; he knows Christ wants us to trust.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) swiped the Matthew 19 reference from John Samples’ most recent E91 Thursday morning Mustard Seed Bible study.
July 17, 2012
Current in Carmel – Westfield – Noblesville – Fishers – Zionsville
Don’t Worry, Be
Faithful
By Bob WaltersAuthor of Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
My friend
Larry, a retired school superintendent in our Sunday morning Bible fellowship,
had a frightening stroke last month but has bounced back pretty well.
He’s at
church each week and endures a slight physical impairment with good humor and a
still-razor-sharp mind. He shared with
us that, because he credits his faith in Christ for his even-keeled, almost
unconcerned reaction to his medical situation, his physical therapist calls him
the “independent stroke patient.”
That got a
laugh from our group, and it prompted me to blurt out loud (as I too often do),
“Isn’t it odd how a Christian who trusts and relies on the Lord is considered
to be “independent” by the outside world?”
Truly, life
in Christ is liberating. But not in a
way that our self-centered world, culture, and society readily understands; not
in a way any human mind could have conceived to bring peace, joy, and
salvation.
How? Jesus was 100 percent about giving. We ask “What’s in it for me?”
That’s not
a new question. Peter asks Jesus in
Matthew 19:27, “We have left everything
to follow you! What then will there be
for us?” Jesus’ answer in verses
28-30 is at once remarkable and, I’m sure to the disciples’ ears, incomprehensible.
“Sit on a throne in heaven … judge the
nations of Israel … receive a hundred times as much (as you gave up) … inherit
eternal life.” While our minds are
stuck on earthly payback, God’s plan is eternal Glory.
You want to be greatest in the Kingdom? Be the least. You want to be first? Be last (verse 30). Get on your face in complete humility with faith in Christ and praise God. There is no way to trade for the grace of Christ, because grace is all about giving. Like my pastor friend John Samples said, “When all you want to do is give, you will never be disappointed.” That’s true independence.
Larry doesn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?” His faith is sufficient, and he knows he has nothing to trade for the grace of Christ. The world wants Larry to worry; he knows Christ wants us to trust.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) swiped the Matthew 19 reference from John Samples’ most recent E91 Thursday morning Mustard Seed Bible study.
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