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Bits & Pieces (3/26/13)

My Spouse Doesn’t Meet My Needs – “When we have an expectation that a husband or wife fulfill us, we set ourselves up for disappointment, because no human being can satisfy another human being.  To hope that another human can meet our needs is asking too much of anyone.  For only Jesus can meet our needs.  Only Jesus can satisfy us.  Only Jesus can fulfill all our desires.”

The Sentence Against God -“Some people can’t believe God would create a world in which people would suffer so much. Isn’t it more remarkable that God would create a world in which no one would suffer more than he?”

Dead Is Dead – “Without death Easter celebrates a comeback, not a miracle. Without a realization of Jesus’ death Easter celebrates the unexpected rather than the impossible. Without a real death there isn’t a real resurrection. Without a real resurrection there isn’t a real point in being a Christian—no hope, no future, no perfect new creation. So Jesus’ death matters. It cannot be underplayed and can scarcely be overplayed. He spend three days breathless, brain-dead, heart-beatless, and decaying. Then He was alive. And, yes, He died for our sins, to give us life. To give us life after death—like Him.”

The Case for Getting Married Young – I thought this piece was especially interesting because it comes from a nonreligious publication (The Atlantic). One thing of particular note that the author wrote was “Marriage actually works best as a formative institution, not an institution you enter once you think you’re fully formed. We learn marriage, just as we learn language, and to the teachable, some lessons just come easier earlier in life.” (H/T)

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross: Story & Download – “Watts’ giftedness for writing hymns, combined with his courage in publishing them, would eventually turn the tide against singing only psalms and set a new standard for Christian worship in the English language. Today Watts is widely recognized as the “Father of English Hymnody.” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is his greatest hymn.”

Free eBook: Fox’s Book of Martyrs – Get a free Kindle version of the classic book.

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Purpose

Grateful to Be Used

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There often seems to be a disconnect between what people hoped to achieve and their actual accomplishments. This gap is the cause of many mid-life crisis, as well as a thousand other smaller examples of discontentment. Even when our aim is godly, when we hope to accomplish much for the sake of God’s Kingdom, dissatisfaction with what we were able to do compared to what we wanted to do can slowly and destructively creep in.

It may be that sometimes this uneasiness is caused by God stirring our souls to move beyond what is comfortable in to a new area of service or ministry. However, it seems that more often then not this restlessness occurs, not when our eyes are on God, but when they are firmly fixated on us. As much as we might couch our discord in biblical terms and with lofty aspirations, the truth is that the reason we feel ill at ease is because of what we expected for our lives, not God. We look at the gifts God has given us, and undoubtedly compare them to the talents and abilities of others, and assume that we can accomplish more than our humble achievements reveal. We want to be used in mighty ways and while we might say that this is for the sake of God’s Kingdom, more often than not, it is for the sake of ours.

When we are faced with this unsettling situation, it is important to remember that God did not have to use us at all to accomplish His purposes. Instead of being discontent with the fact that our reach may not be as far or our ministry as well-known as we would have liked, we should be grateful that God chose to use us at all for the purposes of eternity. He has the power and the ability to accomplish everything He wants to on this Earth, but instead of doing it without our involvement, He choose to prepare good works  for us to do (Eph. 2:10). We are only able to do anything of worth because of Him. Instead of complaining that our lofty aspirations were not achieved, we should be thankful that we are able to do anything that has eternal significance.

This call to gratefulness should not be seen as an excuse to be complacent. We should work with diligence and commitment for the sake of God’s Kingdom. But it does mean that if we are doing so, if we are pouring out our lives for Him as Christ poured out His life for us, than we need to leave the results up to God (see Phil. 2:5-18). Our renown may not be great on Earth, but what we are striving for is renown in Heaven. Hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” will be greater than any commendation we could receive on Earth.

 

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