I will preface all of this by saying that I know that we live in an incredibly broken world that is completely ravaged by sin. The world we live in is broken and it will be broken until the miraculus day when Christ comes to make things right. Creation is longing for that day. This world, and us humans long for things to be the way they were always supposed to be.
We can pray for that day to come quickly, and we SHOULD pray for that day to come quickly!
But, I have been realizing, that there are too many evidences in my life that I use this broken world as an excuse.
I use the brokenness all aroudn me as an excuse to not live the way that Christ has enabled me.
We have the ability to "walk in the Spirit and not obey the lusts of the flesh." We have been given "all things that pertain to life and Godliness" RIGHT NOW! We are "a new creation in Christ! The old man is gone, the new has come." I know that "greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world." We have been saved "to do good works!" I could go on and on, but what I'm really getting at here is that there is a certain way that things should be.
The world will one day like it was created to be, and today I CAN live the way I am supposed to live with the help of our gracious Savior, Jesus.
I know all of this.
But last night, I was sitting in my room and thinking about the way things should be, and the way things are, and the way things have been, etc, and this huge thought hit me.
and it will take a little bit of explanation to tie all of this together.
Much of this thought originates with the game of basketball, and after years and years of playing and during the midst of my second year of coaching, I think this big idea finally came together.
Everything that the coaches do is all about getting the players to improve. We want the players to play up to their potential, and be able to play together as a unit as well as do things individually to succeed on the court. They don't get mad if a player doesn't understand, but they really don't like it if someone isn't pulling their weight, or playing within the team concept or doing something they shouldn't.
Coaches put months and months of time into the players doing everything they can to prepare and equip and train the players to be the best they can individually and as a team. The goal is for growth individually and as a team, and getting everyone to play up to their potential.
As a player, I always hated to let coaches down. It was probably the worst feeling ever.
Now, as a coach, it's hard when a player lets you down...especially after you put so much work and effort into them.
I've never thought of this before! It's so obvious, I really don't know how I missed it.
But this concept is huge.
Imagine what a parent feels every time their child lets them down? And as a child, i know I let my parents down ALOT.
I am beginning to feel what a coach feels when their players let them down.
Imagine what a teacher feels when a student fails a test? Especially after they have spend extra hours tutoring the student.
And on top of all of that...
Imagine what God feels when we let Him down? Every single time we disobey or sin, imagine what it does to the heart of God?
It has to hurt more than anything we could ever feel.
This is one of those things that parents probably feel the most on earth, but the feeling a parent feels still pales in comparison to what God feels.
If we really thougth about this more, wouldn't it change how we live?
Wouldn't we see God and His commands as a GIFT!? It's something He does to protect us, and when we break His commands, we break His heart.
This would change every relationship, every interaction, every job, indeed; it would change every moment.
This passage hit me in a whole new way last night:
Hebrews 12:5-14 - ESV - "Have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."
I want to be really careful in what I say here because I haven't taken the necessary time to really dig into this passage and fully understand what God is trying to say here. But, see if this makes sense:
Have we ever considered discipline as a positive thing?
When people prepare for a marathon, what do they do? They discipline themselves, and eat right, and run a lot and workout, etc.
To succeed almost always requires discipline.
What if we saw discipline as a positive thing?
Just like coaches "discipline" their players by having them complete various drills in practice, and just as teachers "discipline" their students by making them do homework or read books, and just as employers "discipline" their employees by making them do work, perhaps God uses "discipline" to make us more like Him.
And if this is true, why aren't we all in this together?!
Why aren't men rallying around each other and encouraging and exhorting each other to live a certain way?
Remember my point earlier, the point of everything the coaches do is to get the player to play to their potential.
That is the goal of Christ! He wants us to be like HIM! That is our potential!
It all ties together.
See the beauty of it?
Christ wants us to be like Him. He uses discipline to get us there. He corrects us when we fail, sometimes gently and sometimes violently. When we let Him down, it breaks His heart.
But when we let Him down, does He give up on us? Of course not!
He keeps loving and keeps instructing and keeps teaching. He does!
And we are to do the same!
We are to keep loving those that let us down, we are to keep loving those who fail us. We are to keep doing this all of our days.
But there are days when I simply use an excuse and say I don't want to live this way.
I say that things are just too broken for me to live like I should.
I don't say that outloud necessarily, but I say it in the way I use my time and the way I live.
This is wrong. This is sin. And it breaks the heart of God.
It's time for people to come alongside each other and truly encourage, and challenge, and exhort each other to live like Christ. We CAN live like we should! But we violently need God's help to do this, and we need each other to do this.
Perhaps the passion that has been missing will return if we start thinking more cleaerly.
I really want the passion to come back.
To dream big dreams and pursue them.
To be the hands and feet of Jesus.
To love with reckless abandon,
and to keep loving those who let me down.
To teach and exhort and challenge and be let down and then do it all again.
To live with passion for Jesus and a zeal for life and a joy unquenchable by anything the devil throws at me, yes Lord, that is my plea.
Help me to not live quietly, help me not to live a mediocre or unproductive life,
help me to live with passion every second.
help me to live...the way things should be.
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