It’s where I live. It’s at the corner of Moral Highground and the Divided Highway. I’ve lived there my entire adult life. Always meaning to get something done, and too busy for my own (or anyone else’s) good. I get angry with myself, but to no avail. I just keep driving to that corner and either sitting on the porch, waiting for clear direction, or getting back on the road and driving in circles. Yes, that is very metaphoric writing. But I hope you get the point. If not I’ll try to explain it to you in a way that you’ll either understand, identify with, or you’ll determine I’m scatterbrained.
Moral Highground
I spend a lot of time there. Pondering life, wishing our world had taken God’s word serious. I believe every single word, jot and tittle in the Bible. I love reading, studying and hearing the word of God preached. I try very hard not to play church. But I can be just as guilty as the next person when it comes to not putting arms and legs to the body of Christ. From Sunday to Wednesday, and Wednesday to Sunday I will fail to speak with anyone about Christ in great detail, take care of the widows (with the exception of my mother) or do ministry work because I am so divided by life’s circumstances.
Married to the Master
Romans 7:4 KJV
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
In a few days, August 16th to be exact, David Johnson and I will have been married 44 years. It seems like yesterday that my skinny little body walked down the aisle to wed my one and only sweetheart since my junior year in high school. If I treated David, like I treat Christ, I doubt we’d have lasted 44 years. Scripture tells us that we are the bride of Christ. We are married to the Master. And someday we will live out that dream wedding that John saw in Revelation 21:2 ~ And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
But until then, I will fall short of what I should be as the Savior’s bride and servant of the Almighty God.
Every day my priority begins with bearing fruit for the Savior. But twenty minutes (if that) into my day, I am running down the Divided Highway in a dozen directions and getting nothing accomplished for Jesus. Distraction is Satan’s best tactic of causing a Christian to become ineffective. And an added bonus for him is to make us think we’re actually accomplishing something for God. But if I park my butt at the corner of Moral Highground, I have to confess that my accomplishments are always a work in progress. I’m gong to visit so and so, I’m going to call…I’m going to study more, read more of my Bible, do more ministry work, and the ideas will flow liberally into my mind where they stall, and never come to fruition.
Fruition. Fruit. I hadn’t seen that before. Man I’m slow!
Members in Particular
1 Corinthians 12:27-31 KJV
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. [28] And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. [29] Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? [30] Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? [31] But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
If today you and I wrote the following: My Particular Ministry is_____________________. What would it be? It’s not up for debate as to whether or not you have one. You do. God said so. This discussion doesn’t end at Chapter 12 with Apostle Paul. Chapter 13 is known at the “love chapter.” That is our primary responsibility; to love people into the Kingdom of God. To treat the world in such a way, they want to follow you home. Heaven help me if they do. It literally says “Welcome to the Chaos” on my house post.
But within that chaos is a family of 12. How blessed am I. My grandchildren are in constant need of something to eat, a ride to or from the school, help with a project, dog sitting, (I drew the line at snake sitting). That chaos is some of the greatest memories and times I have. It too is a part of my ministry. Noah made sure his eight were in the boat. But he didn’t stop ministering to the people, even while building the ark. Can you imagine the insanity around Noah’s loading of the ark, preparing for those 40 days, all while ministering to a world that would literally die around him when his job of building the ark was done. Well, we don’t have to worry about the critters, but we do have to worry about the people. We need to get them into the ark of the Covenant of God that He has promised to those who believe that He is the Way, the Truth and Life. When you look into the eyes of your friends, families and neighbors, you’re looking into an eternal being that will be somewhere when the end has come. Heaven or Hell. Both are very real addresses.
Measure of Stature
Ephesians 4:11-13 KJV
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: [13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
When we stand in Heaven, face to face with the Creator, it is then that we will have the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. We will be like Him. We’ll be given our eternal assignments! But not before we stand before the throne of God and answer for what we did with the time we were given. I preach it. I remind myself, and yet I feel like the biggest human failure on earth in the line of God’s children. Help me Lord to live today like Heaven just opened up and the ark was beginning to float.