Heart brimming with spit and venom I am trying to turn over a new leaf. Actually since my first post dedicated to showing gratitude and appreciation for the good in my life I actually feel a little better generally speaking. Of course that may be because I have also been praying and studying my bible more. Focusing on gratitude for a few minutes a day may also be helpful.
Actually I feel kind of bad that today's topic wasn't the first one I chose since it is actually the most important. Nonetheless it is #2 in chronological order: Knowing who God is.
Lots of people will instinctively say "Oh yes I know God. I pray to Him." Some would say Her but I find that nearly blasphemous since biblically speaking in a marriage union the man is the "head" of the woman. Anyone who wants to debate that can certainly do so but I'm not going to try and defend that statement since the bible does a more than adequate job of doing so. If you don't like it, that's fine. God doesn't demand that you believe me or that you read the bible for that matter. Not all who do believe it. God leaves that to the individual so far be it from me to attempt to force my beliefs on anyone. I am just saying what they are and noting that it comes from the bible.
But I digress. My point is not do discuss the appropriate gender of the pronouns referencing God Almighty, rather it is to say that I am glad that I know who He is. I don't want to turn this into an online sermon. So I won't spend any time justifying my position with scripture (unless I happen to know it off the top of my head.) If someone wants to discuss this personally I'd be happy to do so, but for the purpose of this post I'd just like to stick to the fact that I am grateful to know him and why.
God promises to right the wrongs perpetrated on the earth. Bible readers will know that God has temporarily allowed other influences on the earth as can be clearly seen with all the wars, poverty, corruption, et cetera. A casual perusal of nearly many major news outlets bears witness to that. Many blame God but I believe he had good reason his course. It seems that most people have been duped into not following God's standards. They are pretty tough by modern standards. No smokin', recreational drugs, chasing women (with all the immorality a 21st century main stream American might imagine). Of course that is just a sampling and it is by no means exhaustive. Beyond that there is all kinds of stuff he expects as is espoused at Matthew 24:14 or Matthew 28:19, 20. Still more when there are scriptures that say we should love our enemies and pray for those persecuting you. So doing God's will is Hard.
Of course he helps us along which is why prayer is so important.
What's the up side? John 17:3. Not bad, actually it is more than humans deserve. Of course I didn't really believe this when I was a kid. If you had asked me I would have said that I believed but my actions proved different. Even now I still look back at the things I will have to leave behind if I keep trying sincerely to serve God. They are legion. I don't know if I will do it. I certainly can do so with God's help but I have not before now chosen to hold on to that assistance he offers for an extended period of time (certainly not more than 5 years consistently in a row since becoming an adult.)
All that aside though, I know who God is, and a little bit about what he expects of us. That puts me ahead of oh, I don't know, maybe 90% of the earth's population. It doesn't put me into the end zone but at least I know the vector. A lot of folks try to serve God and run in the completely wrong direction.
I was watching a TV show not long ago and I again found myself envious of the position occupied by one of the show's characters; in a position to work hard and do good on a large and important scale. I have for a few years now come to realize that I am just not intelligent enough to serve in prestigious capacities in this country. It just takes me too long to learn and I didn't get a good start (from a secular perspective.) However knowing God is far more valuable than that. If he chooses to retake control of the earth in my lifetime, then I am way ahead of all those high livin' folks who know how to make it in the world in which we currently live.
There are a few who know God, serve God and who have prestigious careers as well. I thought that was going to be me when I was a kid. What I found is that at my intelligence level, I could not do both. I erred heavily on the side of prestige and stopped serving God for many years. I am still not in good standing in what I understand to be the organization he is using to promulgate his message on the earth today. Nonetheless my recent loss of employment has given me a little bit of time to stop and gain perspective on what I was doing with my life. I hate what I am now and hope that I can use the extra time to myself to start serving God again. It will be a challenge and I have a long way to go, but at least I have gotten started, again.
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