Great Expectations
I hope to be able to go fishing every week. I hope to serve the people of
Christ Church and Good Shepherd to the best of my ability. I hope my
children and step-children will continue to prosper and be good citizens.
Our lives are filled with hopes and expectations. In fact, we often plan our
lives around our hopes. We tend to organize our activities around what we
expect in life; that which we expect becomes that which we seek.
Most of us do our best to avoid controversy, confrontations, or conflicts because we are conditioned to seek serenity or creaturely comforts. However, the seeking of this serenity, or peace for the body, tends to disregard the soul, and as a result we won’t succeed in our personal ministries.
Many today do not expect our faith and/or their ministries to inconvenience them, and they don’t expect it to be an inconvenience on family or friends, either. Those who hold this kind of outlook tend to live their faith accordingly.
But the gospel can and often is a source of controversy. In this day and time, there are those who will be antagonistic towards us when we try to live out the gospel. Thus, a person’s endeavors to be a witness for Christ can make them resistant to making the effort because it can lead to conflict the or cause difficulty and suffering for themselves.
Do we expect our ministries to be some kind of entertainment, sources of fun or pleasure? Scripture teaches us otherwise; it tells us that our ministries, our efforts to be gospel-bearers, may be arduous and not a lot of fun. Yet, if we prepare ourselves accordingly and trust that Christ will be our strength and support for the forces that oppose us, we can face and handle any task put before us.
Subconsciously, we know that Christ will be with us and never fail us, but we don’t somehow really expect it. Since we don’t expect it, we don’t shape our lives around Christ’s promises. Instead, we tend to strive to live an untroubled, comfortable life; a convenient gospel. However, this lifestyle is not the Gospel of Jesus.
So, what are your expectations for this day?
Curtis +
Most of us do our best to avoid controversy, confrontations, or conflicts because we are conditioned to seek serenity or creaturely comforts. However, the seeking of this serenity, or peace for the body, tends to disregard the soul, and as a result we won’t succeed in our personal ministries.
Many today do not expect our faith and/or their ministries to inconvenience them, and they don’t expect it to be an inconvenience on family or friends, either. Those who hold this kind of outlook tend to live their faith accordingly.
But the gospel can and often is a source of controversy. In this day and time, there are those who will be antagonistic towards us when we try to live out the gospel. Thus, a person’s endeavors to be a witness for Christ can make them resistant to making the effort because it can lead to conflict the or cause difficulty and suffering for themselves.
Do we expect our ministries to be some kind of entertainment, sources of fun or pleasure? Scripture teaches us otherwise; it tells us that our ministries, our efforts to be gospel-bearers, may be arduous and not a lot of fun. Yet, if we prepare ourselves accordingly and trust that Christ will be our strength and support for the forces that oppose us, we can face and handle any task put before us.
Subconsciously, we know that Christ will be with us and never fail us, but we don’t somehow really expect it. Since we don’t expect it, we don’t shape our lives around Christ’s promises. Instead, we tend to strive to live an untroubled, comfortable life; a convenient gospel. However, this lifestyle is not the Gospel of Jesus.
So, what are your expectations for this day?
Curtis +
Comments
Post a Comment