These are some random thoughts from my prayer time this morning. I don’t know if this sufficiently conveys my thoughts/feelings but it’s the best I can do right now.
There’s a video I’ve seen on Facebook where a guy is trying to convince a queen to postpone her human war to help him fight a greater war. In the video he says something like:
“We’re like children playing games and complaining that the rules aren’t fair.”
I’ve gotten to where I feel something similar about being a disciple of Jesus. We’re like children using our grubby child fingers to grasp the infinite of God. And everything we do, we do with our grubby, clumsy, ignorant child fingers all the while, we are convinced we are so clever. Think about the things we do.
We pray to an infinite and holy God who has not only graciously allowed us to be able to talk to Him, but has invited us to come to Him in prayer. Not only that, but this infinite and holy God has enabled us to come to Him through the blood of His Son. Despite the fact we are talking to the infinite and holy God, despite the fact we have access through the blood of His Son, how often do we rush through prayer or struggle to stay focused? And beyond those things, how do we even pray to such a God? How do we give Him enough praise? How do we thank Him enough? How do we pray for things in a way that focuses on Him, His glory, and His will and not ourselves and our desire? Most of the time aren’t we just grubby toddlers asking for our binkies?
We preach about this infinite and Holy God, the sacrifice of His Son, and the response we all ought to have about these things. How on earth do we study enough to prepare for such an awesome task? Can any of our sermons actually do justice to the subject we’re preaching about? We’re like 5 year-olds explaining astrophysics to 2-year-olds.
Think about sharing the Gospel. We’ve been allowed to be Ambassadors for Christ who have been given a ministry of reconciliation and who are called to plead with people to be reconciled to God. Despite this, how many conversations do we have in a week where we waste time talking about trivial unimportant issues? How earnestly and how often do we plead with people to be reconciled to God? We’re like children watching other children drink draino and tepidly saying “you might not want to do that.”
We could apply this with all things things we do. This quote by C.S. Lewis’s is spot on.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Lord help us to grow up!
Ramblings from Real Man's Land 