Living In The Lord

 

Now God is able to lavish all grace on you, that, having all contentment in everything always, you may be super abounding in every good work.  

2 Corinthians 9: 8, Concordant New Testament 

The first I heard of the term blessed life was while listening to some Sunday sermon on the virtues of living in the Lords will.  That is, being holy, doing right and pleasing the Lord in all we do.  Then, the pastor assured his audience, would one truly live a blessed life.  But is the term blessed life just another catch phrase for a series of sermons?  What is it like to live a blessed life.  This question has been laid upon my heart a lot in recent months.  See, I know in my heart that the Lord has blessed me with His provision and love.  But is this realization all we need to live that blessed life?  Knowing that God has provided all which we need.  After all, Jesus claimed that the Father would provide us all that we need {Matthew 6:26}.  The apostle Paul also speaks to God supplying all which we might need {Philippians 4:19}.  Knowing this, is it that far fetched that we would expect that God would provide for us?  Not at all.  Yet, if we listen to the teachings of the mainstream church we soon learn that following the Lord comes with a price.  If we behave wrongly or in some way displease the Lord, what happens to our blessings?  For the longest time this was my struggle.  I realized that I was blessed in the Lord, yet each time a crisis occurred in my life I fell back on the old church mantra that I had somehow offended God.  For this, God was withholding His provision from me.  Not that long ago I related my struggle to a dear friend of mine.  Instead of agreeing with the mainstream church mantra, he asked me a simple question...'Have you ever known God to be a Indian giver?'  That question made me rethink what I had been taught for so long about living in the Fathers blessing.  Is God a liar?  Does He go back on His promises to us?  Therefore, if He has indeed proclaimed that He will provide for our needs...He will do just that.  As humans, our thoughts are all too often scarred by the effects of our own experiences.  In my case, others had lied to me and let me down, so I unconsciously applied these experiences to the Fathers actions as well.  Why wouldn't God go back on His word to me?  Many others had done just that.  Yet this is not at all how God works in His love for us.  

Now my God shall be filling your every need in accord with His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 

Philippians 4: 19, Concordant New Testament 

Some years ago, the Christian church was introduced by the 'Name it and claim it' philosophy.  I remember it well.  The idea was to step out on the promises which the Father had given to provide for us and begin to ask Him for the things WE desired most.  That new car, the big house on the hill or that big promotion.  After all, God had promised His provision right?  Jesus claimed that were we to ask of the Father that He would provide {Matthew 7:7}.  There were more than a few times in which I prayed for something and came away disappointed.  Each time, I came away wondering what I had done to upset the Lord.  Why was God not honoring His promise to me?  Well, the issue here was not one with the Lord, but on our misinterpretation of the scriptures.  What if the claim of Christ in Matthew 7 was less of a name it and claim it statement and more along the lines of Jesus assuring us that God is ever present in our lives and that He hears us when we pray?  Yet, the allure of God providing that shiny new car sounds so much better to us than God reminding His children that He is there for them.  Remember that He has assured us that He will provide for our NEEDS.  Is it a shiny new car that we need?  Is it the fancy house in the well to do neighborhood that we need?  We might think so.  However, we do well to consider how it is that God fulfills our basic needs each day.  Life and breath.  When you break it down, THESE are some of our basic needs.  We tend to view things from a material perspective.  Do we have food?  Do we have clothing?  A place to live?  We tend to see these as our basic needs.  But this leaves one crucial provision of the Lord out.  He has promised us life in Christ Jesus {1 John 5:11}.  This is more valuable than any car you might find.  

And this is the testimony, that God gives us life eonian, and this life is in His Son. 

1 John 5: 11, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~