I know the future! Yep! You heard it right here but I am not prophet and claim nothing to do with prophecy. I do know the future. I am headed to glory, to heaven, in the presence of God and God promised me that in His Son. I do not know what turns and twists will be on the way, but I know where I am headed. I know where people without the Lord are headed too! The Lord is not part of the self righteous, the prideful or arrogant, those involved in sin. Their fate will be horrible in the end.
What I am seeing today is an increase in "individualism"! Go to the book store and look at all the hundreds of hundreds of religious books written. The majority are about "individualism." "You can be this..." or "The Lord's personal plan for you...". The books seem endless. People write how to develop this within or that within. We are going overboard on "individualism" and it is having drastic effects on the body of Christ. Personal development is a big hit! Preachers preach, teachers teach, people hold meetings, seminars all speaking of himself or herself and how they individually overcame. Our airwaves are filled with "Let me tell you what God has done in my life..." Instead of asking, "What is God's plan for me?" we should be looking at a bigger picture. I know God's plan and His plan was revealed in Jesus! The question should be, "Who is the God we have been called into fellowship with?" We have turned the Scriptures into such a personal agenda, we have missed the Almighty that spoke the Scripture! We need to be studying, reading to see the God and His involvement in human affairs not our "individualism". Jesus came to explain God (John 1:18)!
To walk after the Spirit means to live your life where He takes you. Our prayers need to be surrendered to the will of God that our lives will be molded and shaped by the God of creation. Our lives need to be changed into the glory of Christ and that comes by understanding Him and His ways, not our personal wants or needs. We need to really see ourselves as the Lord sees us. Paul spoke of having the attitude of Christ and the mind of Christ. That takes away us from "individualism." This "individualism" is having a drastic affect on the church. No more are people concerned about one another as Christ's body, but about being "individuals" and splitting up so we can be "individuals." That's where the "contemporary" and "traditional" ideas have taken us. God did not take us there!
Those in Christ, with a true and honest heart, are headed to the glory of God. We have had revealed to us our outcome. We need to grasp the big picture! Eternal life is knowing God! (John 17:3) The Scriptures weren't written to tell us each and every detail of what to do when this happens or that happens! They are written to show us God and His purpose in dealing with mankind. The Scriptures are not written for us to know a "gazillion" responses individually each time something happens or does not happen. They show us God! They reveal the glory of Christ and His message to a lost, sinful world. The Scriptures give us understanding and insight to our heavenly Father, why He does what He does. When "individualism" takes over, we forget our purpose and our God. The end result is each and every one forgets the goal that is already promised and wants "me" time!!! Just look around and see the fragmentation in the church and how people are moving to a more "community friendly" environment. We have lost our way and the power of God to change us into His image. If one is in Christ, they have eternal life in their possession. We know the end result. The in between from here to there, that's where we come to know and see God, which takes us away from "individualism" so we can be conformed into the image of His Son. It's hard to be conformed when all we are looking at is the great and grand things God can do for us!
4 comments:
Thanks for a very thought provoking subject. You see this happening and it doesn't really register with you at the time. It's almost as if it's just a common part of today's life.
Why is there such a strong need to search for "God's plan for me"? Every last thing that we need to know (not want) is given to us in the Bible, which is God (John 1:1 . Hebrews 4:12 tells us the word of God is living and active.
This extensive push to individualism is so subtle at times that it doesn't really appear to be an issue. We easily grow acustomed to this individualism since it seems to be the right way to approach God by the standards of the world and we fail to realize the pitfall of such thinking. We are told not to be conformed to this world in Romans 12:2, yet we so readily accept this individualism push without so much of a single question or comment. We, espeically, fail to go back to the Word of God and seek out the absolute truth.
If we seek the kingdom of God first (Matthew 6:33), we would not be putting ourselves first and asking what is God's plan for "me" or seeking our own personal agenda. Asking what is God's plan for me is an attempt to bring glory to the individual. All glory must be given to God at all times. If you are glorifying God as you should, then these questions of individualism would not even come up.
I completely agree. We should not just look for the great and grand things that God can do for us. God is the only reason we exist. Who brings the rain and the sunshine? The seasons? Go review God's responses to Job's questions and you will see that everything is God, and not just the great or grand things that we seem to foolishly seek. I must ask the following. Do you find God, and all he does, in every aspect of your life? Are you thankful to God for the air we breath and the sunshine? For the food we have to eat every day? Or for your very soul? For the gift of his son Jesus and the salvation he gives us? Do you rise up each morning and make the glorifying of God your goal for the day until you lay down at night? If not, then why not?
Thank you both for these gentle reminders to put aside selfishness and put on selflessness. Without diligence, so many things can creep into our thinking. I appreciate these messages so much!
Thanks Jim! I think I will let you write my next blog!!! People are wondering what the church is missing....here you have it! May God open our eyes.
I always remind myself before responding to anyone on any topic that it is far easier to comment on someone else's ideas than to post my own. It's like the difference between starting a new conversation and joining an existing one.
People may be wondering what the church is missing, but I would say that they are to busy with the things of this world to even stop and ask that question on a regular basis. Their priorites are with the material aspects and not the spriitual ones. We don't even take the time to talk about God as we should. Then if we do try to make the time for God, we seek the quick and easy answers that end up causing things like individualism.
Again, thanks.
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