Thoughts
on Michael Wells’ teachings in My Weakness for His Strength - # 221
Michael’s book is
available through:
Abiding Life Ministries
International
Littleton, Colorado
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Isn’t
it amazing that circumstances have become the dictator to so many of whether
life is good, life is bad, or life matters…we have just had another
presidential election in America, and the result has led ½ to say “good,” ½ to
cry “bad,” and untold numbers in the midst of the “bad” to think that perhaps
life doesn’t matter…who knows what they will do…
Michael
draws a contrast to life in man’s world, and Life in God’s realm…well, amen.
DAY 69
Does Life Matter?
Whether, then, you
eat or drink or whatever you
do, do all to the glory
of God. --I Corinthians
10:31
I often hear sermons
wherein the listeners are admonished to live for the future. The argument is
that all we possess, anything we have ever done, or any illness that has
overcome us will not matter in heaven. In fact, the worries, hurts, and
disappointments of today are not even to be considered in light of the great
someday when we will be in heaven and all of God's promises are revealed. All
that will matter in heaven are the things of heaven. However, the goal in life
when this emphasis is embraced becomes "hanging in there," just
toughing it out until heaven. Consequently, this emphasis leaves some of us
believing that the daily components of life simply do not matter. The
contention that life is misery was continually told to one struggling fellow;
he was assured that if he would just hang in there until heaven, relief would
then come. Finally, he made what would seem to be a quite logical leap as
expressed in his suicide note. In light of how he perceived that teaching, he
simply decided to bypass the struggle and misery of daily living and go
directly to bliss.
Some emphasize
knowledge as the end goal of the earthly, daily experiences of life. That is,
every situation in life is to teach us something. If we are faithful to learn,
we go to heaven having become experts at living on the earth. However, the
understanding of how to live on earth would not appear to be of great practical
value in heaven, and who among us maintains that learning the hard way from our
experiences is appealing? Do we relish a continuing education course that
instills firsthand knowledge from such hardships as watching a loved one die,
observing a child on drugs, hearing the news of an unfaithful mate, or losing a
job? Just how will all of this knowledge help in heaven? If life is to teach,
many believe they have already learned enough. Is life just an endurance test?
Others have declared
that the purpose of life is doing. "It matters not what you believe; what
do you do?" When things get tough, they assert, the tough get going. The
adversities in life are meant to separate the sheep from the goats, the
successful from the failures, and the weak from the strong. Every event in life
is a challenge, but they maintain that man can get the job done. They will keep
every command and despise those who do not. The interesting thing is that their
definitions of success are always contrived to reflect the scope of their own
abilities, and the problem is that if life presents one adversity that cannot
be mastered, then what was the purpose of overcoming the previous thousand? I
have consistently found that it only takes three questions to discover what any
particular doer cannot do. I have seen many half-built bridges around the
world; construction was going so well until some one thing hindered, but that
one thing was the most important thing. Is the purpose of life's circumstances
to see how much we can overcome?
I listened to an old
man in Ukraine as he related his prison experience of twenty years, followed by
another seven for refusing to renounce Christ. He told of miracle after miracle
that took place during his incarceration. My spirit leapt within me, for I was
so encouraged with hope by the testimony. I could not bring myself to say that
all of his suffering was bad, for he had been led to participation in Life in
new and wondrous ways. "And
as for you, you meant evil against me, {but} God meant it for good in order to
bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive" (Genesis
50:20). When it
is revealed that "all things" work together for the good of those who
love Him, we come to understand that nothing is meaningless. A flat
tire, the rebellious child, empty pockets, a lost inheritance, or the death of
a loved one all move me
toward Life. Paul understood. "Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not" (Romans
12:14). When God,
in His love, mercy, and grace, decides to move me near, the problems line up one
behind the other. They step forward one at a time until I give up and turn to
Him. Once in His lap, I so enjoy myself that I look back at the problems and
thank God for them.
We believers do not have to fear that when lying on our
deathbeds we will have to say, "Life was meaningless."
We did not know which car to buy, so we prayed. We did not know what to do for
the child, so we prayed. We were suffering with ill health, and we prayed. We
were rejected by family, so we prayed. None of the mundane or miserable circumstances of life were meaningless
to us when they propelled us into the Father’s presence.
Yellow – VIP, Very Important Point Green
– IT, Incredible Truth
Red – GP, Greatest Promises
Turquoise – UR, Unfathomable Riches Pink
– PV, Priceless Victory
Life as a Christian matters…because God designed it to be Christ’s Life
living through His children. Colossians
1:27. Galatians 2:20. Well, amen.
Michael points out great Life verses such as 1 Corinthians 10:31,
Genesis 50:20, (Romans 8:28, “all things”), Romans 12:14…and, of course,
Michael always points us to “Life on the Mount” (Matthew ch’s. 5, 6, and 7).
With Christ living His Life through us, no circumstance of life is
meaningless…but, propelling us into the Father’s presence…thank you, Michael, for
pointing us to the unfathomable riches of the Life of Christ once more.
To access ALL past weekly
blogs, go to Living Life With a Capital
“C” by logging onto www .leemccm.blogspot.com
NOTICE: another blog on
Michael Wells’ book, Sidetracked In The Wilderness, called Getting Out of the
Wilderness. You can access by logging onto
www.leemcchristianministries.blogspot.com
Lee McDowell Christian Ministries
P.O. Box 633244 Nacogdoches,
TX 75963 936-559-5696
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