Most of you know that stuff has been going on in my life lately, stuff that has obviously brought these thoughts to the forefront in my mind. However, I trust that you will take my words at face value -- I'm not talking about my situation, or any one particular situation, but I'm hopefully saying words that we can all relate to in our own lives.What do you think about patience? We talk about patience a lot, but sometimes it's on the order of having patience with our kids when they won't pick up their toys or patience at a stop light. I'm talking about something a little deeper and long-term than that.
Consider some quotes/lyrics/verses:
- Pastor Randy: The goal of spiritual life is change.
- Michael Card (Maranatha): "It's certain that waiting's the most bitter lesson a believing heart has to learn."
- Sandi Patti (Another Time, Another Place): "So I'm waiting, for another time and another place"
- Romans 8:19: "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed."
- Galatians 4:19: "...I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you..."
I realize some of these lines are referring to a future in heaven, but I want to keep my discussion to what goes on in our lives on this earth. I believe that we are all on a spiritual journey, and where we were in the past is not where we are today, and where we will be tomorrow, though it has not yet been revealed to us, is not where we are today (and we hope with God's help it's a better, deeper, more mature place).
What I think we can gather from the quotes above is again that our lives are meant for change. We can choose to read in to the word change, "Make me do stuff I don't want to do" or "Take my comfort zone away", but we can also see it as "purify my heart", "mature my mindset" -- the opportunity to become who we are meant to be, in God's plan.
What we are left to discuss is the waiting component. I will assume that you agree with me that change is a blessing God gives us. But change doesn't happen overnight. How many people lose hope in life because they don't see the change they wish to see? How many go through their days in a maze of normalness, never thinking about where they came from or where they are going? I pray that we would be alert not just to the day, but also to the season we are in, and to the things God is bringing us to learn. As we understand more and more how this process works, we can (ideally) choose ways to fill up our time that foster this process. We obviously can't be in actively-being-tutored mode every second, but we can always have something in the back of our minds (carefully, with discernment) looking for a lesson to be learned in the events of our lives. And although we probably won't feel like we're growing every day, hopefully in time we can look back down the path and see how much more.. mature.. our thinking and our actions have become.
May we as a community (however you define and bound that community) always be in a state of growth-change, becoming the individuals, families, and communities that God is actively and presently creating us to be.
Comments (1)
I think you also have to be careful that you don't strive for change so much you miss something in the current state of things.