Wednesday, March 24, 2010

March 24, 2010

"with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men," Ephesians 6:7


One of the things that makes golf so difficult is that it is so counter intuitive. Everything that would seem to make sense about golf is wrong. It would seem like the harder you swing the club at the ball the further it should go. Not. It would seem that the harder you grip the club the better hold you would have on it the better you should be able to control the shot. Untrue. If you really concentrate all your energy and focus on exactly how you want to execute each shot it should help you play better. Nope!
Golf is a matter of physics. You swing the club in an arc around the body in the direction of the target at a smooth, relaxed, rhythmic speed and let the ball get in the way. If you can do that consistently in a confident frame of mind you can be a good golfer.
Much about being a Christian goes against our nature. Since marriage is a microcosm of the Christian relationship, it too is counter intuitive. If we do what comes naturally we will end up lost and lonely. If we merely "follow our hearts" we will end up in divorce court and Hell. Some might think they are the same thing but they are not.
The human heart longs to be served. So the natural thing is to seek relationships that will serve our needs. We only serve to the extent we have to in order to assure we get served. That self-centered orientation is a prescription for disaster in any close relationship.
So, the Bible teaches us and Jesus demonstrated that the way to lasting, loving and life-giving relationships is to serve. Serve God and in His grace serve others.
It is through His humble service and sacrificial death on the cross that we are able to be saved and brought into relationship with God. What makes you think that you can have an intimate and meaningful relationship with God or anyone else without sacrificially serving?
You can't.
How will you seek God today? How will be choose to serve Him? What sacrificial thing will you do to die to self and come alive in Him? How will you serve your spouse today?
Don't let it be about you today because - it isn't.