The problem with all of life is summed up in the little word cumulative. It is the weight of our continued choices heaped upon us over time, either for the good or the bad. Crazy how that works.
Bits of money squirreled away over time add up to big dividends. Bits of fat stored away over time add up to big bodies. One becomes an asset, the other a most problematic liability.
Both follow the same trail of a little at a time over time.
God speaks to cumulative (Romans 1):
But God's angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people put a shroud over truth.Perhaps we think, I trust God, I avoid wrongdoing and lying, and I try to tell the truth of who God is according to the bible. Good for us. But we can accumulate something even more hurtful to God (1 John 3):
This is the original message we heard: we should love each other...anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know very well that eternal life and murder don't go together...we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.Making God's love disappear by not doing what we can, by not sharing what we have with other believers in need...scary, compelling, disturbing. When do I help? How do I help?
Yes, cumulative is the problem, but with spiritual realignment, we can make it the solution. Whatever we are doing toward God becomes the storehouse out of which we operate. Matthew 11 and 1 Peter 1:
Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.
So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that's coming when Jesus arrives. Don't lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, just doing what you feel like doing. You didn't know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life; a life energetic and blazing with holiness...now that you've cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it.Hang out with God. Work with him. Then we'll know how and when to help others.
Be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life. Then we'll avoid wrongdoing and placing a shroud over truth.
Love one another as if your lives depended on it. Then we'll bless God.
All cumulative. All assets.
God is not the problem when our cumulative gets proper realignment.
Tomorrow: When evangelical has attitude.
Comments are welcome at feedyourstrength@gmail.com.
