In our high-speed, ever changing, constantly plugged in,
instant gratification, endless options, information overload culture; it is so
easy to get bogged down in the trivial things and lose focus on what really
matters most.
I experience this culture a lot at our family’s plumbing company. Let me explain. In the past, when you decided to
build a building, you would first sit down with an architect and have a
complete set of plans and specifications drawn up. Most, if not all of the
decisions were made prior to breaking ground. The cost was counted, the
materials ordered, and everything from the paint to the door knobs were picked
out. The plans and specifications communicated what the customer wanted so the
contractor knew what he was supposed to build. This process made building a
house pretty simple. The contractor would just follow the plan and do what it
said. Having a plan allowed the contractor to focus, stay on track, plan ahead,
and do the job well!
This process is changing. Now we have cell phones, Internet,
text, and email. Plans and specifications are still drawn up but now changes can
be made to them instantly. More often than not, only the major decisions are finalized
and approved. This leaves everything else on the project undecided so the
customer can surf the Internet and wade through the countless options available
to them. Now, we break ground first and figure out the details later. Because of
this, it’s not unusual for our project manager to get over fifty phone calls a
day. Each call is a mini meeting that usually leads to more options, more
questions, or more decisions that will need to be decided on when we get back
to them with more information.
There are some advantages to having the flexibility to make
spur of the moment changes or in prolonging decisions so you can consider your
options, but the draw back is that it makes what used to be a pretty simple job
a lot more complicated. And in my experience when things get complicated the potential
for confusion, mistakes, and chaos increases drastically.
The same can be true in our spiritual lives as well. Think
about it. God planned out all the details before He ever broke ground on
creation. He knows the end from the beginning. He even gave us His Word so we
can know Him, understand what He is building, and know what He wants from our
lives. If we trust Him and follow His plan, life is really pretty simple. Just
open the Word and do what it says. What would happen if we could just stay
focused on living a simple life of obedient faith to our awesome God and
Savior?
But the world gives us so much “freedom” to choose and so
many options to choose from. Our culture encourages us to draw up our own plans
and do life our own way. The world tells us to not commit to anything but instead
to keep our options open just in case something better comes along. All this seems like a good thing but in the
end, it actually only makes things more complicated, confusing, and chaotic. And when we live this way it always ends badly.
Something God is stirring up in my heart lately is a increasingly
strong desire to live a simple, obedient, focused life of faith, much
like those saints we see in Hebrews chapter eleven. With eyes of faith they saw
Him who is unseen and they had such a confident expectation of receiving what
God had promised that it caused them to leave the chaos of the world behind and
go out boldly in faith. They didn’t get
so caught up in the trivial things of this world because they had their eyes
fixed on God and their hearts set on the better world that He had promised them. Their focus on eternity allowed them to
navigate this temporary world with great wisdom. They simply listened to God the great
architect and builder of creation and did what He said. And look what happened.
Sure, they probably seemed strange to the people of their day, but now we count
them as the heroes of our faith.
The writer of Hebrews then goes on to say that now it’s our
turn to join with them and live those same kinds of simple, focused, obedient
lives of faith.
“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also
lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
So today:
Lay aside the sin and even the “good” things that are
causing you to stumble.
Follow Christ and run towards His Heavenly Kingdom with all
you have and don’t quit.
Fix your eyes on Him, follow His example, and trust Him.
And remember, He will be with you every step of the way.
Shannon Compton
Life Groups Pastor
