When I think of stories from the bible and their lessons, their value comes not just in that they happened, but that they happen. If the story of Moses, the burning bush, the 7 Plagues, the freeing of millions of Hebrew slaves from Pharaoh, ect, is currently happening, it is seen in God's constant pursuit of His creation and desire to free us from that which enslaves us.
It is interesting to see the 7 Plagues through the lens of the Egyptians of that time. Each plague showed the dominance of I AM, the God of a Hebrew named Moses over the gods the Egyptians worshiped. And though I never want to be accused of 'over-spiritualizing' it is not hard to imagine current day plagues coming in the form of an economic down turn, a credit crisis, global uncertainty, the rising unemployment of not just 'others', but much closer to home with our friends and our families. It is not a far stretch to see God's hand moving to realign His creations perspective and dependency from themselves to the only thing that is truly constant.
In a number of recent conversations, many people are feeling the inconvenience of all our modern day conveniences. And for those who subscribe to the teachings of Jesus, our constant struggle with faith and life has been so diluted in the conveniences of our consumerist culture. If we are honest, we know little about true dependency on God, because we have rarely had to depend on Him for anything. A problem we have not yet fully come to realize.
But as our world continues to seemingly fall apart, at least for a moment we are gaining new clarity. A clarity we had previously only scratched the surface of, but never really wanted to come to grips with, or needed to for that matter. And consumerism has not just replaced our need for dependence on God, it also offers services to handle our identity, security and stated value in this world. It tells us that we can be who ever we want, pursue a life of comfort, consume more than is needed, live beyond our means to somehow achieve the 'dream.'
May we all take heed of the moment and reevaluate our priorities, dependencies and securities. If we are learning one thing, the economy, our leaders, the dollar, banks, CEO's, pensions and the so called American Dream are fleeting and lack the substance to offer us little more than self-centered quick-fixes. May we all seek something bigger than ourselves, something with an eternal perspective that gives us mission for this lifetime and lives on when we die. I'm convinced that at the end of my life my regrets will hinge on my selfish pursuits and not what I did and sacrificed for others.
8 comments:
that was an absolutly eye opening post. gives me a lot to think and pray about.
i love watching 'planet earth' because that makes me love God more...
I want to high-five Him with each new thing they show...anyways
Miller High Life is my beer of choice: yess it's cheap, but sooo delicious
In your post and the lesson you wrote – What plagues would God need to send today ?– I was thinking about that. The plagues were sent to convince the ruler(s) to let the people being held captive go. But who is being held captive today. It is Christians? Or those people enslaved to the stuff of the world. It also seems to me that the Jews wanted to be free – who want’s to be let free today. We as Christians or the slaves to the world are happy to be where we are – we don’t want to be free. So my question is how do we convince this generation of Gods people to long to be free? We are blind, happy to be in the dark. I listened to Andy Stanley today on the way to work – He was teaching on using those defining moments in our lives to stay in the Light and to not retreat back into the comfort of the Darkness – So I pray today that I will abide in the light and not return to the comfort of darkness – I ask God to break my heart with those things that break His heart. – And to be truthful it scares me to pray that – But maybe Fear is what I need to stay in the light!
Heather - let me know what your thoughts are.
Justin - that's disgusting.
Bob - I think that is the problem, we are lulled to sleep in the comfort of our consumerist world. I don't really want things to fall apart, but it is such a struggle to stay conscious of where my dependencies are. Times of peace and times of comfort bring about lethargic faith. I don't know how to wake others up, but I'm sure it starts with learning to wake up myself.
Well, what really hit me was this...
"If we are honest, we know little about true dependency on God, because we have rarely had to depend on Him for anything. A problem we have not yet fully come to realize."
I guess I just feel sad to know that I have used God. I have relied on our 'conveniences' to get me by when I should be relying on God and my faith and nothing else.
Things are going to get worse, or so I hear. And when it comes down to it, all that is left is God and I want to be with him.
Sometimes you have to realign yourself.
Great post!
I have a feeling that we are exposed to ourselves at times like these.
By that I mean, we are genuine and sincere when we pray and say and sing words like: God is more than enough; God, You're all I need; I surrender all; You take the world but give me Jesus etc.
But we don't really know what that entails: our knowledge of how we would react if we were put into that situation is, for most of us, zero.
It is possible that the Lord is using the currant stretching situations to show us what's in our hearts when the chips are down (like He did with the Israelites in the wilderness)
I think a lot of us are a little shaken to see how shallow our dependence on Him is.
Thanks for the thought provoking post
Heather - I totally understand what you are saying. And what I wrote was more of a realization for myself, not just a critique of 'American Faith.' This is a great time to realign ourselves and refocus our energy, money and trust.
Allie - you are right, it is a vulnerable and exposing time. Everyday I feel challenged - who do I trust in all this? Glad to hear others are feeling what I'm feeling.
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