When I see Jesus, it is less difficult to think that God really cares for me as an individual. When I see Jesus, the unseen reality begins to make itself almost tangible.
More than I can handle
One of the Christian platitudes that I find most irritating is “God will not give you more than you can handle.” Try telling that to Gideon and the 300 men with him as they moved toward a battle with the entire Midian army. Try telling that to Job who, in addition to experiencing the loss of health, wealth and family, had to endure the empty and sometimes harsh words of his so-called friends.
A difficult transition
I have nearly completed my sixth decade of life, nearly all of it as a believer, yet I find myself trying to earn the approval of both God and the people around me. I need to transition from trying to earn God’s approval to responding to the love and acceptance that I already have. Rather than an initiator, I need to be a responder.
We build the altar but God sends the fire
It is right to want more people sitting under the preaching of the gospel. There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to learn from others. But the danger is that we can lose focus on what real spiritual growth looks like and we lose sight of who causes that growth.
