I apologize for the lack of consistency on my end...it's not fair to you the reader who's genuine thirst is halted because of my inability to make time for something I told myself I would commit to...which brings me to a song that I've been stuck on for the past few days. It's a song by Matthew West-someone I got to meet and chat with before he made it big, I was his bodyguard during a performance at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD-I even got a free autographed cd!
Anyway, off his new album is 'The Motions' which I think hits the nail on the head for all of us who claim to be Christians. If you click on 'The Motions' you will be taken to his website that is dedicated to explaining his motivation for the song- which also doubles as a place for anyone to 'recommit' or make a resolution not to continue down the path of 'going through the motions'. I think everyone should google search the lyrics to his song and listen carefully to his message...while it may not resonate with everyone, I know it will touch everyone who is in deed committed to their Christian walk.
I don't want to ruin the song for anyone, but I do plan to break down portions of his song and use it as a reference for this blog to get the ball rolling...
Right off the bat, he opens the song up with this: 'This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change'...the interesting thing here is that 'this might hurt' indicates that there has been time and thought given to this decision and that 'I've gotta make a change' means they've dedicated themselves to this tough decision-they have the resolve and intend to see it through.
Now, we all have this thing about pain...we don't like it. We tend to build up protective barriers to pain-to shield us from the bi-products of pain: confusion, indecision, emotional hurt, and vulnerability. The crazy part is, we convince ourselves we can prevent such things from happening...when in fact, it's not natural and it's not a part of life. You can a hint or two from scripture: Genesis 3 and The Parable of the Talents.
If we don't seek Him and thirst after Him then we're more or less bland and loose our saltiness as indicated in Matthew 5:13-16.
Too often we forget His promises to us and His plans for us...we sometimes choose to do things our own way. And in our brokenness when we pray, we don't really mean it and give it up to Him...we're merely going through the motions. And sometimes we do things because 'that's what a Christian would do' rather than because we actually adopted it as a way of life. You see, Jesus came to teach us how to think, not what to think and we have a tendency to get them confused.
The truth is, we've done it the easy way-our way has always been the path of least resistance, but I think in the tough times we're supposed to learn something, we're supposed to grow and take note of God's lesson. There's a reason why nearly 80% of teenagers leave the church after graduating high school or why over 50% of marriages end in divorce...because when it gets tough...we quit. And if you think the disciples had it easy...you might want to re-read your Bible. On the night of His betrayal His followers fled as He foretold and they were lost sheep...we sometimes get lost and if you're 'going through the motions'...it's time to make a decision. While it won't be easy you know it's the right thing to do. Remember, you've done easy and now it's time to stop going through the motions.
By the way, I made my resolution-to do a better job of digging into His Word and putting down my reflections on this blog which I believe is a tool for many besides me.
2 comments:
I think this is a wonderful blog1 I think you hit a spot most people try to ignore because they realize they are just going through the motions and they are satisfied with that. Me being one of those who has realized i have been just going through the motions is trying to get back on track and doing exactly what you are doing for your resolution: digging MORE into His word. God never said it would be easy following Him, if it were easy then we wouldn't need Him. Thanks for blogging on this topic it helps me realize I'm not alone in this. Really good job hitting the spot, once again a really good topic and blog you really know how to take a simple topic and make it into something we all need to think about and changing about our christian walk. Thanks again love!
This is just what I needed to read. I have found myself, in my spiritual/ faith journey, doing just what you wrote about- simply going through the motions. It has taken me a while to realize it, but it has become a reality for me in the past few months. I'm tired of doing that. I have just recently begun to take some steps to change this and hopefully be able to put my whole heart into my relationship with Christ again. It's been difficult- and I know it will never be easy. Thanks so much for your words, yet again. You have a way with words and are a true blessing to everyone who knows you.
Post a Comment