Over in the corner, in the room of our life, is the Christian recliner. We are all tempted to sit in it. When we do, this is what happens. We pull the lever and our head goes back and our feet go up. We relax, and we take a nap. We thank God for our blessings. We ask God to give us more. We remind him of his promises and request that he solve our problems. We pray for our needs and expect a miracle. We name it and claim it. We stand on the promises [except that we are lying down.] We create the notion of a Christian life that is centered around our comfort and peace of mind. [God will not give us more than we can handle.]
Since we were not created to live lives focused on our comfort, after a while we experience a crisis of meaning. And so we double down. We go to a Christian counselor who lays us down on a couch and listens to our problems. We are encouraged to believe in a God who only wants the best for us. We remind ourselves that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives. And we enjoy laying in the Christian recliner where we are comfortable and where we are served. [I love God, I got saved, so my life should be easy, right?]
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Then one day we wake up. Sleep is over. We realize that there is more. There is a life and a purpose outside of the comfortable chair. We get up and look around. We start to become aware of the needs of others. We begin to realize that our blessings are given to us to help others. We put on shoes and think of those who have none. We eat a meal and think of those who are hungry. We become generous. We become kind. We begin to wake to the day and look for those that we can love.
We wonder why we laid in that recliner for so long. Why we expected God to act, when God was all the time expecting us to act. We start to be grateful in new ways. We are thankful for the opportunities to love. We are thankful for daily breath because in each day are the kernels of life giving love. Springs of living water begin to pour fourth from our souls.
We are alive as never before, and we are alive to others. Thank God that we finally got out of that chair!!!
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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I am, along with Sherri Swanson and Aaron Brown, leading a trip to the Holy Land January 23-February 2, 2023.
For more information, click the link below. And if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jsbrink57@gmail.com
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