Archive

22 April 2012

Priorities

One thing I've always struggled with is priorities. I like to keep busy - you'll probably find I'm at my best when there's plenty going on in my life, but in terms of putting things in the right order I'm often guilty of prioritising the wrong thing, and neglecting the things which really need my time.


I guess we're always told as Christians that God should be our first priority. Well, yes... And no.


If I make my Uni work a priority over my time in the pub, then that means I completely forgo the pub, and spend time at home working on a design, an essay, a project. If I make my social time a priority over my Uni work, then I'll completely forgo (for a short while at least!) my Uni work, and go to the pub with some friends.


If I'm to make God just one of a set of priorities, then we get one of two outcomes.


If we liken God to my work in situation one - then that leaves very little time for anything else in life. Spending time with him one-on-one, spending time praying, spending time at church - all this is vital. But spending no time outside of this bubble isn't what God wants for us. He wants us embracing his wide world, he wants us to spend time with people who aren't Christians, he wants us to raise families, get degrees, work hard... and play hard too!


If we liken God to my work in situation two, then we're in a very sticky situation. This implies that actually, he comes second, and we only focus on him when other stuff is finished, and is out of the way. Of course, I don't need to expound why this is a bad way to be, although I know it's something I all too easily slip into.


So if God isn't priority one OR two, where do we place him?


Who likes Blackpool rock? Personally I can't stand the stuff - but have you noticed how on the sticks they have the words "Blackpool Rock" running right through them? No matter where you break the rock, you'll read these words, and no what it is you're dealing with!


May I suggest God must be these words, and that the stick of rock our lives? You see, it's not that God should occupy a place on our list of priorities, but he should be the reason each one of those things are on our list. He needs to be present in every area - our work, our family, our friendships, our time in the pub... Only then is this true worship of him. 


This has certainly helped me in recent weeks. Recognising God is far too important to just occupy a ranking in our lives, and that he fully deserves to be involved in everything we do glorifies him, and motivates us to include him in all we get up to. 

1 April 2012

Palm Sunday - motivated by love

Someone put an interesting thought to me this week. She referenced the oft-quoted line that Jesus "had to die" and wondered how that worked alongside the fact the Jesus died because he loved us... How can it be that true love is shown by someone forced to do something? Well, it's not.


On Palm Sunday we see Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, knowing that he's going there to die (Luke 18:31-34). Now I don't know about you, but if I knew that entering a certain city would result in my death I'd run a mile. Jesus shows real determination and guts to enter Jerusalem and face his fate.


It's easy to forget that whilst Jesus was fully God, he was also fully man. He'd have felt the same emotions we would have in his position - fear, nervousness, perhaps even anger.


But despite this Jesus walks boldly into Jerusalem. Why? He's motivated by love. There's your "had to die". It's the same feeling I have when thinking of my loved ones. We act not out of feeling we ought, but out of a choice made deep down in our affection for another.


"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us..." says John. Jesus could have turned and walked away from Jerusalem. He didn't. He could have avoided the Garden of Gethsemane, and thus being arrested. He didn't. He could have, as he was mocked about, come down from the cross and saved himself. He didn't. Why? Love.


Saying "Jesus had to die" makes out that Jesus was purely motivated by what WE needed, which is only halfway true. Yes, he was motivated by our need for a Saviour - but not because we demand it, rather it's because he wants to give it. We don't own Jesus - Jesus owns us by what he did for us and in spite of us. He chose to die for us, and we had no right to expect him to.


So reconciling those two concepts becomes easier when we see that one affects the other. It's my love for my fiancee which motivates me to care for her and to love her sacrificially. It's my parents love for me which motivates them to care for me and to love me sacrificially. Just as it was Jesus' love for us which motivated him to care for us, and to love us sacrificially. What a magnificent God we have.