Thursday, February 26, 2015
Getting What You Want
Mark Roberts:
See that's the thing about God's instructions, they sound holy, but they are usually very practical as well. What I find most fascinating is the practical benefit the secularist ignores. If we desire God above all, it changes us, not just what we desire. We become better people and becasue we are better people, the world is a better place. If enough people desire God above all the world becomes a very nice place. That's very practical.
But there's the rub, see the secularist is not really holding to a point of view, they are holding to themselves. They can sense the change that would come and they want nothing to do with it.
So, the essential question is are you willing to be changed?
change idolatry
If you were to ask me if I am an idolater, my first answer would be "No! I worship the one true God." That's true. But if you were to ask me if I worship anything besides or alongside God, I might be less confident in my answer. Then, if you were to ask me about my desires, I would readily admit that there is plenty of competition in my heart when it comes to yearning. Yes, I desire God. But I also desire lots of other things. Some of these are good things, things that are gifts from God, like the love of family. Yet, at times my desire for those things can exceed my desire for the Lord. Periodically, he and I have a good chat about this, which mainly involves my confession, reception of forgiveness, and then a renewal of my commitment to love the Lord more than anything or anyone, more than security, more than health, more than my family, more than making a difference in the world.The secularist would argue that this sort of "Christian advice" is really about coping with disappointment, that if all we desire is God, we cannot be disappointed. I can see and understand that argument, but why is that practicality a bad thing?
See that's the thing about God's instructions, they sound holy, but they are usually very practical as well. What I find most fascinating is the practical benefit the secularist ignores. If we desire God above all, it changes us, not just what we desire. We become better people and becasue we are better people, the world is a better place. If enough people desire God above all the world becomes a very nice place. That's very practical.
But there's the rub, see the secularist is not really holding to a point of view, they are holding to themselves. They can sense the change that would come and they want nothing to do with it.
So, the essential question is are you willing to be changed?
change idolatry
