I have not written a post in a while. I’ve been working on some other projects that needed to get done. At least I wanted to get them done. My garage is somewhat usable now and not as cluttered with mounds of scrap wood. I enjoy being creative in many areas, including woodworking and art. But sometimes, my garage gets so cluttered with scrap wood that it is hard to find the space to work.
I get so busy doing things, planning, calculating and trying to figure out how I am going to accomplish things that my life gets cluttered with “action” and “progress” and I don’t have time for God. There are some things that my wife and I believe that God has called us to do, and I have decided that I have to make that happen. Yes, I do need to work, but my mindset has become that I am the one that will accomplish this. My actions have overtaken my faith. I get very busy, but I don’t seem to accomplish much.
Often times, we go to church on Sunday mornings, and that is about all the time we have for God. Or, worse, we don’t even have time for church because we get too busy. Maybe we watch the live stream or church on TV, often with it playing in the background while we do other things, so we can “check the box” of “going to church” for the week. We have become very focused on getting our kids the training, experience, and opportunities they need, and Sunday morning becomes a great time for extra training or just another game day. We want to get that project finished at home and the rest of the week is so busy, Sunday morning is the only time we have to get it done. Maybe it is trying to get ahead at work because our boss expects it or to get that next promotion, and we need that extra time on Sunday morning since there are just not enough hours in the week. Going to church becomes just another box to check on our weekly to-do list and is optional if I get too busy.
Instead of trusting God to provide for my needs and to provide for what I believe he has called me to do, I decide it is all up to me and my efforts. I work extra hard and long and put aside the things that are most important. I wear that as some sort of badge of honor. “Look how hard I have worked and what I have accomplished.” The reality is, if God wants me to do something, he will provide the way, and the important things in life will still be the important things. Living a Christian life is much more than checking the church attendance box. God wants us to have a relationship with him. Being a father and a husband is more than checking the “provider” and “I was there” box. My kids and my wife want a relationship with me. A relationship that is formed by many hours of time together, not sitting on the sidelines watching them play and going to work so they can have all the opportunities they deserve and I didn’t get. Quality time building relationships.
Yes, we do need to work hard. Yes, our efforts are important. There is a balance between faith and action. The biggest change for me is my attitude. Do I show how good I am by the efforts I have made, or do I show how much I trust in God and his leading by the actions that I take? Do I take action because I believe I have to do this, or do I take action because this is what God has called me to do? Do I take actions to actually do good, or do I take actions to make me feel better about myself? Do my actions line up with my faith?
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:12-19 (NIV)
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Jesus provided the best way to clear my mind and all the scrap wood in my head. He says to focus on Him. Look to him, not just out of obligation and as our co-worker to help us get things done, but out of a desire for a relationship with God. When my “Christian walk” becomes more about a relationship with God and not another obligation or box on my calendar, all the other stuff in my life begins to fall into place. As I clean out my garage to make space for new things and create a place to work, those pieces of wood and piles of stuff that I have been hanging onto (I might need that one day) and are getting in my way suddenly are not as important as I thought they were. The large load in the van going to the resale shop to be donated and the piles of wood to be hauled away or burned in the fire pit along with some hot dogs and marshmallows becomes liberating and “the peace of God that transcends all understanding” comes over me and my relationships with God and with my family begin to grow again.
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)
That is my one goal for the new year, to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.”
