Meditate. Think about God’s plan.
He said to another person, "Come, follow me." The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead! Your duty is to go and preach about the Kingdom of God." Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family." But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." Luke 9:59-62
This is one of my favorite passages of scripture since I’ve repeated many times to my grandchildren about my own experience “plowing…and looking back” as my family farmed irrigated row-crop acreage in Eastern Washington State when I was growing up. One day Dad wasn’t plowing but was actually corrugating a field, putting in little ditches or trenches between the rows of planted beans. I was about eight years old and kept pestering Dad to let me drive the tractor in the field. After driving the tractor with me several times, he finally let me help him in the field—driving alone. He gave me specific instructions—keep my eyes on a marker at the end of the row—and don’t look back. If I looked back the rows would be crooked and the water wouldn’t flow down the corrugates to water the plants evenly. It was an extremely dry area with less than ten inches of rain a year so water was very important. I assured him, “I can do this!” So, he hopped off the tractor while it was still moving slowly up the field. I hung onto that steering wheel and just knew my rows were going to be straight and my Dad would be so proud of me. Before I got to the end of the row, I turned my head…and looked back. Sure enough—nice straight rows. But when I turned my head…I turned the wheel and the rows were jagged. Water cannot flow through jagged ridges. I yelled for Dad and he came running. He hopped back onto the tractor and shut it off. Then he handed me the shovel he was carrying. I had to straighten out those rows, by hand. That was hard work. We finished working that field that day, but he didn’t have me “help” him drive the tractor again. I learned a big lesson that day…Don’t look back. You make more work for yourself and others. Keep your eyes on your goal. I felt bad about disappointing Dad. Now if I look back and am dissatisfied with my life…especially spiritually…then I’m not fit for the Kingdom of God. I need to keep my eyes on God…on pleasing Him…on being obedient.
Paul wrote in Philippians about
the importance of having a goal.
Not that I have already grasped [it all] or have already
become perfect, but I press on if I may also take hold of that for which I was
even taken hold of by Christ Jesus. Brothers [and sisters,] I do not regard
myself as having taken hold of [it yet;] but one thing [I do:] forgetting what
[lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the
goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all
who are mature, let's have this attitude; and if in anything you have a
different attitude, God will reveal that to you as well; however, let's keep
living by that same [standard] to which we have attained. Philippians
3:12-16 NASB20
It is said that without a goal, we
fail. Or…if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. What is your goal?
·
Heaven…and taking as many people with you as
possible?
·
Pleasing
God—being obedient to Him?
So we are always confident, even though we know that as
long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live
by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would
rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the
Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal
is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will
each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this
earthly body. 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (Underlined for emphasis.)
Good goals. God has a plan and He
consistently works towards that end.
God has now revealed to us his mysterious plan regarding
Christ, a plan to fulfill his own good pleasure. And this is the plan: At the
right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything
in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have
received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes
everything work out according to his plan. Ephesians 1:9-11
Trust in the Lord…and seek to know
Him more each day, because the time may be growing short before He puts
everything into place. Only those who know Jesus as their Savior will receive
the inheritance about which Paul wrote to the Ephesians. Those who don’t believe
in Jesus will have an eternal inheritance also—in a great fiery pit. Everyone
makes their own choice. Heaven or Hell.
When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, God's mysterious
plan will be fulfilled. It will happen just as he announced it to his servants
the prophets." Revelation 10:7
Are you ready? Are you fit for the Kingdom of God?
Prayer ~ Lord Jesus, I choose You. I acknowledge that like everyone who has ever lived since Adam and Eve, I am a sinner—but believing in You, I am forgiven. Thank You. It feels amazingly, extraordinarily wonderful to be chosen to receive an inheritance of eternal life from our Heavenly Father.
Verses of Salvation ~ God saved
you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so
none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us
anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians
2:8-10
Your salvation is a beautiful gift from God.
New life.
Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character
Available as an e-book
or paperback at Amazon.com
No comments:
Post a Comment