Tuesday, October 27, 2009

A millisecond

I have a confession. Well, actually 2... One is that I don't know how to spell millisecond, so let's hope that phonics worked for me. Second is that I'm extremely self-centered. Now, I care about people and I genuinely try to do what I can to help them, but what it really comes down to at the end of the day is me and my problems. That doesn't work out so well as a Christian who is commanded to love God and then others, and as a kicker... as we want to be treated. There have been countless times in my life, and probably today, where I didn't react to someone or take the time to show my love and Christ's love to them because I was too busy trying to get my stuff done. That's flat-out wrong and a sin, I'm supposed to love people, not just love them when I have a free minute.

I'm reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan, and wow, that book is in my face! That man is blunt and I like it! Today I was reading about how the world is kind of like a movie and who really is the central character in that movie, and guess what, it's not me... He talks about how God was the one who was around when the earth was created, God was around when the earth flooded because of disobedience, God chose Abraham to be the father of nations, God was the one who sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins, and God is the one who controls everything. Our lives in comparison to God are but a millisecond... I mean, I think I'm a big deal, but I wasn't around for any of those things... The next part is the best, he asks, "so, what does this mean to you?" His answer-that I need to get over myself! So true, so blunt, and so needed to be heard.

When I start focusing on my problems and my issues it completely takes the focus off of God. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if I get married, if I finish my doctorate, or if I die in a car accident tomorrow; the only thing that matters is if I lived my life for Christ and if I made a difference for His kingdom. Chan makes the statement in chapter 2 that no one will know who I was 50 years after I died, and while that hurts to hear, it's true. So, I need to get over my defeated attitude, and understand that yes, God does love me and cares about my hurts, but the most important thing is that I'm living my life for him.

So, if you're hurting right now, please read and believe these words... "Life is tough right now, and everything feels like a struggle. God has allowed hard things in your life so you can show the world that your God is great and that knowing Him brings peace and joy, even when life is hard. Like the psalmist who wrote, "I saw the prosperity of the wicked... Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure... When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God" (Ps. 73:3, 13, 16-17). It is easy to become disillusioned with the circumstances of our lives compared to others'. But in the presence of God, He gives us a deeper peace and joy that transcends it all."

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