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“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God” – Romans 3:11
The day was
drawing to an end and the lack of sleep was taking a toll on his body. His eyelids seemed heavy as he drove home
that night, he could almost feel the smooth cotton and warmth of his
sheets. He couldn’t wait to get home,
change and call it a day. He rolled the
window down to let the cool breeze invigorate his sense to try and keep his
eyes open, he had to make it just a few more miles. He started thinking about the day’s
activities. How did life get this busy
and what would he ever do to turn it back around. This is certainly not what he had planned on
when he was a young executive. Somewhere
he thought that success at work meant life would be easier and more manageable,
but there certainly was no evidence of that.
His wife and children had suffered the brunt of his busyness and lack of
participation in family events. As he
came around the S-curve, there standing in the middle of the road was a doe and
her 2 fawns. There eyes widened as his
headlights shone upon them, and he swerved to avoid hitting them. The doe ran right in front of his car as the
fawns ran the opposite direction. He
just missed hitting the doe, but felt his left wheel sliding off the side of
the road and within a split second his car had turned completely sideways.
Just then the headlights of an oncoming car were seen coming around the curve. There was nothing he could do, so he braced and closed his eyes for impact. The sound of a horn and screeching of tires ripped through the quiet night. Then his car came to a stop. As he opened his eyes, amazed that he was still alive, all he saw were the taillights of the other car fading away around the other part of the S curve. His car was idling, sideways on a back country road in the darkness of night, and somehow he was not dead. Wide awake, he straightened his car and drove the remaining 4 or 5 miles home that night, grateful to be alive and questioning why his life had been spared. This could be one of those events that is written off as dumb luck, or it could be a catalyst for change in the life he was living.
In this gentlemen’s case, he woke up the next morning feeling challenged and reinvigorated. Challenged to do something with the life he had been given, challenged to take this opportunity to help others and give back. In his mind, if he spent more time at the nursing home or volunteering at the food shelter, then he could repay God for not taking his life that night. He made the calls, set his schedule and planned out his day-timer to allow him to serve a few nights a week. That should make God happy, that should be enough to show God how grateful he was.
What the gentlemen failed to realize is that we are not judged by our works or our kindness to others. In Romans 3:23 it tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the grace of God.” We are here to worship and bring glory to God. Doing good things for other people is honorable and kind and compassionate, but if we aren’t giving glory to God in those things we are wasting our time. A relationship with God is not through impressing him with works, but through af fundamental acceptance and acknowledgement that Jesus Christ lived and died for our sins. Once this is understood the works that follow will exemplify His heart and love.
When we do good things to impress others, or feel more self-righteous and less guilty about our contribution to society, we are living on man’s terms and not God’s. The essence of seeking God will draw you to the place where you are serving because those receiving are seeing God through you. Life is short and we can spend our entire time staying busy with our agenda, or we can decide to use our time to share His love and grace with as many as we can. So, what is it you are seeking? You want to know God more, we all do; but what are you doing about it and who are you sharing Him with?
©
Sondove Enterprises, 2012Just then the headlights of an oncoming car were seen coming around the curve. There was nothing he could do, so he braced and closed his eyes for impact. The sound of a horn and screeching of tires ripped through the quiet night. Then his car came to a stop. As he opened his eyes, amazed that he was still alive, all he saw were the taillights of the other car fading away around the other part of the S curve. His car was idling, sideways on a back country road in the darkness of night, and somehow he was not dead. Wide awake, he straightened his car and drove the remaining 4 or 5 miles home that night, grateful to be alive and questioning why his life had been spared. This could be one of those events that is written off as dumb luck, or it could be a catalyst for change in the life he was living.
In this gentlemen’s case, he woke up the next morning feeling challenged and reinvigorated. Challenged to do something with the life he had been given, challenged to take this opportunity to help others and give back. In his mind, if he spent more time at the nursing home or volunteering at the food shelter, then he could repay God for not taking his life that night. He made the calls, set his schedule and planned out his day-timer to allow him to serve a few nights a week. That should make God happy, that should be enough to show God how grateful he was.
What the gentlemen failed to realize is that we are not judged by our works or our kindness to others. In Romans 3:23 it tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the grace of God.” We are here to worship and bring glory to God. Doing good things for other people is honorable and kind and compassionate, but if we aren’t giving glory to God in those things we are wasting our time. A relationship with God is not through impressing him with works, but through af fundamental acceptance and acknowledgement that Jesus Christ lived and died for our sins. Once this is understood the works that follow will exemplify His heart and love.
When we do good things to impress others, or feel more self-righteous and less guilty about our contribution to society, we are living on man’s terms and not God’s. The essence of seeking God will draw you to the place where you are serving because those receiving are seeing God through you. Life is short and we can spend our entire time staying busy with our agenda, or we can decide to use our time to share His love and grace with as many as we can. So, what is it you are seeking? You want to know God more, we all do; but what are you doing about it and who are you sharing Him with?
For an archive of Daily Thoughts go to: http://www.10minutereader.com
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