Christians exist to be in a relationship with God. God created us to glorify Him. Since God loves people, if we love him we will feed his sheep(John 21:17). But the question is:
- How do we achieve this day to day?
How do we walk in relationship with Jesus, grow, and accomplish this task? King David faced this dilemma throughout his life, as he sought out to follow the Lord. His very life illustrated the work of Jesus who seeks a broken vessel to accomplish his tasks. David went through outrageous trials in his life at the hand of a man named King Saul.
In the book: "A Tale of Three Kings" Edwards speaks of certain truths which blow my mind. In fact all of Jesus' teachings also blow my mind. I just don't understand how God would place us in situations like David and expect us to be okay. It is hard to grasp the teachings of forgiveness, humility, and turning the other cheek. But the more I understand the Lord, it all makes sense. The more I understand His love, the more I WANT to live a life which is one that will bring Him glory.
You see real Christianity has nothing to do with the American culture today. Real Christianity is about dying to self and brokenness before the Lord. So often the world's philosophies and psychologies talks about building up self and taking care of "me." They are opposite to the truths of scripture and this grieves me so much. I just care about people and I want people to experience the best. I want them to experience God's greatness and His heart in their own lives. I am not talking about a life free of problems and trials. This will never happen this side of heaven. I am referring to a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ with peace and hope in the midst of these things. I believe that this can only happen when we follow the truths of scripture and turn away from the worldly ways of thinking.
"If I just set the right boundaries than nobody will ever mess with me."
"I won't be treated like_____________."
"I won't stand for this or that."
"I, I, I. Me, me, me."
"I need to learn to love myself."
"I need some me time."
"I will get revenge."
"They will be sorry....."
"I have a right to feel this way. I have the right to have this pain and act like this or that."
"It's always their fault. It can never be my fault."
"I need to explore my self."
I just don't see these things in the Bible. In fact they aren't there. Basically these worldly motto's are pride. Too much self introspection is a form of self loathing which centers around the "me" mentality which can be unhealthy and dangerous. The Bible tells us our hearts our wicked at the very core. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?(Jeremiah 17:9)."
The end result of these attitudes is often bitterness and a lack of character. Throughout the Bible there is a goal of being God centered, not self centered. We are supposed to deny ourselves, not constantly be about self.
Matthew 16:24,25 reads: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life he will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."
Christians are not supposed to focus on their own needs all the time. They are to be other's centered. I am not talking about living a life of a martyr and denying one's every need. I am also not talking about not dealing with sin in our lives. I am talking about fixing one's eyes on Jesus and His truths and walking in Him. When we lift up the name of Jesus in worship, when we fix our hearts and mind on the promises of God, when we fix our attention on obeying Him and surrendering the junk in our lives, our circumstances seem to melt away in light of His greatness.
It is quite possible to be a Saul in today's world. It is actually easier, and takes less work. It just all depends on what you want I guess.
I thought it was interesting that Edwards' points out that we all have authority figures in our lives, that are either one of two types of people. They can be a king after the order of David or Saul. It is also interesting that we can never really know for sure which one they are. We can't know this because God is the judge, not us. Therefore, whether it be a boss, a friend, a leader, or relative that brings us pain, it is there for a purpose. It could be that the very pain we experience in the hands of these people, is what God is using as a source of character building in us. They could be the very thing which God seeks to use to break us. The very friction we experience as we brush shoulders with them, is the chisel God is using to cleanse the impurities of us, His vessels.
God likes us when we are broken, because that is where humility lies. David himself knew this point as he wrote Psalms 51. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise(Psalms 51:17)."
I love the point that Edwards' makes:
"You have your eyes on the wrong King Saul. As long as you look at your king you will blame him, and him alone, for your present hell. But be careful, for God has his eyes fastened sharply on another King Saul. Not the visible one standing up there throwing spears at you. No, God is looking at another King Saul. One just as bad- or worse.
God is looking at the King Saul in you(page 24)."
I think we as Christians need to turn the focus off of our circumstances and onto Jesus. We also need to not blame other people for our circumstances or pain. We need to take everything as a learning tool to grow. All we can do is focus on ourselves and make sure that we are walking in obedience to him. We need to be humble like David and forsake the Saul mentality which is prevalent in our culture today. We need to not be about self, but forsake self and surrender our all to Jesus. When we are in a trial, we need to seek God for wisdom on how to handle certain situations. We need His guidance to help lead us everyday. His Word also provides the truth we need to navigate through life. We also learn from the book of James that trials produce patience and character. We cannot control what happens around us, but we can control our reactions and CHOOSE to seek God for his help and grace to make the needed changes in us. We need the Holy Spirit which is alive inside of us to produce the fruits of the Spirit.
James 1:2-5 reads: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. "
Maybe we should start thanking God for the trials in our lives which are producing in us the fruits which will glorify Him. :) Amen? Amen.
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