After Further Review...
Posted by:
Bible Blogger on
March 20, 2007 at
4:47PM EST
If you're not a fan of the National Football League then the title of
the blog will mean very little to you before you read further. If
you're a fan of the NFL...and you're a perfect human which means you're
a Philadelphia Eagles fan...you know that "After further review" is the
first words that comes out of the referee's mouth after reviewing a
play to see if they judged it correctly when it actually happened.
He'll then say they had it right (if there's any way they can pretend
they didn't goof up) or they'll say the play stands as called.
The
review process always starts when one of the coaches on the sideline
senses something is wrong and throws a red flag onto the field. Well,
he throws it onto the field and then starts yelling at all the
officials until someone notices the flag is on the field but you get
the idea. They see something not quite right and they raise the red
flag.
That happened after my second blog yesterday.
A few
of you dropped notes to me saying "hey, man, you're being a little
harsh on yourself here. I don't see a failure...I see someone who had
their mind on God and they gave the credit to God for everything. It's
not an F!" Then everyone proceeded to grade me from A to D minus.
As
I pondered the words of wisdom and looked over the encounter again with
the filter of distance I had to agree and say after further review it
wasn't a complete failure. In fact, if I look back I see that
Deuteronomy 10:14 was written on my heart: "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it." (ESV)
The
first thing I did when I thought all was lost was to say everything was
the Lord's and if He wanted to take it away then it was fine. I
trusted that He had some other plan for me and while I may not have
known what it was there was still that trust that the Lord is just,
fair and loving. I knew there would be grace later although I really
didn't feel much grace at that moment. I later found out I
over-reacted and that's why I can't say I passed completely but it
certainly was not a failure.
It make me think of our walk with
Christ and how none of us will stop growing before we enter the Kingdom
of Heaven if we are truly seeking to be what He wants us to be. There
is always something...in this case, my trust level....that can always
be refined, be raised and be used to give glory to God for His power,
might and love. That doesn't mean I (or you) are a poor Christian or
we're horribly off the path God has set for us or that we've completely
failed the Lord. It means we're human and we will never be Jesus. We
can just strive to continue to grow in the Lord.
"We
ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right,
because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of
you for one another is increasing. Therefore
we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your
steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions
that you are enduring." - 2 Thessalonians 1:2-4 (ESV)
I love
that Paul was writing them to give thanks about the growth that the
church at Thessalonica was experiencing. While the persecutions and
afflictions we face today may or may not be on the same level as faced
by then the result is still the same. We continue to grow and our
faith can grow abundantly.
When's the last time you celebrated your growth?
I
know I haven't done it nearly as much as I probably should do it. When
you celebrate accomplishment it spurs you on to other accomplishments
and lifts your spirits. It builds self-esteem and it drives you
forward to the prize that's awaiting all of us at the End of Days.
When have you celebrated accomplishment in others?
I'm
going to issue all of you a challenge today which I know I don't
normally do. This challenge will likely make you step out of your
comfort zone and do something that seems to foreign to you and likely
to someone else. I just feel it's something I need to put here and ask
you to try.
Think of a friend or co-worker who is a fellow
believer in whom you've seen growth in their faith and walk. Perhaps
it's been over time or maybe it was just one situation where their
maturity in Christ shone through even if it didn't seem like it at the
time. Go buy them a card. Some flowers. Chocolates. A bag of red
fish. Or, if they're on the Atkins diet like me, a plate of hot
wings. (Never underestimate the power of hot wings.) Tell them you
see the growth in them and give them the encouragement that Paul was
giving the church. I think both of you will be blessed.
