Achieving Loss
A Man has dreams of walking with giants. To carve his name of the edifice of time. But before the mortar of his zeal has a chance to congeal. The cup is dashed from his lips. The flame is snuffed aborning. He's brought to rack and ruin in his prime (George Banks, Mary Poppins).
We all have dreams we aspire to… Things we want to accomplish in life… And there is nothing wrong with that… To set goals for ourselves and work hard to make them happen… But what is the first goal? What is primary in our lives that we strive towards? The truth is for us all, there are always roadblocks along the way… Things that we just can’t seem to get through or get passed. Ultimately, though, it is not a matter of not hitting the blocks… It’s how we handle them when they come… When John received a vision from Jesus that became what we know as the book of Revelation, he wrote this: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name (Revelation 3:7-8).
When the difficulty comes… What we say and how we handle it matters. He knows and sees us… And it is He who has placed the door open before us… Paul would call it striving toward the goal… However, there is danger in knowing that no one can shut the door that God has opened… John goes on to write this: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:14-16).
The temperature of our pursuit of God matters… More than the achievement we work towards or the loss of the past… Paul would write that I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Nothing is greater than knowing Jesus Christ deeply and pursuing him with the intensity of a runner training for a marathon… Do we have the same intensity in our daily walk? What is the temperature of your faith today?
We all have dreams we aspire to… Things we want to accomplish in life… And there is nothing wrong with that… To set goals for ourselves and work hard to make them happen… But what is the first goal? What is primary in our lives that we strive towards? The truth is for us all, there are always roadblocks along the way… Things that we just can’t seem to get through or get passed. Ultimately, though, it is not a matter of not hitting the blocks… It’s how we handle them when they come… When John received a vision from Jesus that became what we know as the book of Revelation, he wrote this: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name (Revelation 3:7-8).
When the difficulty comes… What we say and how we handle it matters. He knows and sees us… And it is He who has placed the door open before us… Paul would call it striving toward the goal… However, there is danger in knowing that no one can shut the door that God has opened… John goes on to write this: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:14-16).
The temperature of our pursuit of God matters… More than the achievement we work towards or the loss of the past… Paul would write that I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).
Nothing is greater than knowing Jesus Christ deeply and pursuing him with the intensity of a runner training for a marathon… Do we have the same intensity in our daily walk? What is the temperature of your faith today?
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