06/18/23 (Reviewed and Republished from Winter of 2019)
It Doesn’t Matter
I remember that there have been times where apathy has been a problem in my own life, but I do see too that it’s a major problem in the church as a body. The conviction of God comes by the power of the Holy Spirit acting on the Word of God – and initiates dealing with our conscience, but we can reason our way out that Jesus is speaking to us. Our natural tendency, mine especially, is to want to dismiss the conscience, when I very well know that if I don’t address the conscience and deal with “my stuff” as soon as I can, it can lead to a heart problem. The closer a person gets to the Lord, I believe their conscience is made more sensitive to the things in the Bible, and at the same time, the stronger their conscience gets towards being not made feeling guilty over things they realize are not sins anymore. We have to be strong in the grace in Christ Jesus, and I don’t think it means in his pardon or his forgiveness always – which is mostly certainly does – but also the grace that Jesus is known for Himself, the grace of God available to us to walk like Jesus walked, with His nature being formed in us. When I met my husband, I heard him use the term “Grace” in this way, like in the book of Acts (New Testament of the Bible) chapter 4: (Acts 4:33) “With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all”. Grace can also be defined as the ability to walk with God and serve God with His power, so that the person of Jesus is seen in us.
Jesus Heals the Law of Disorder in the Universe
The tendency of the earth and the human heart also is entropy. The principal that is known as the 2nd law of Thermodynamics, which is (Law of “Entropy”) stated as basically, “everything in the Universe tends to disorder”. The best way I know how to explain this is with a paralleled analogy. What if you have a garden, where you have to order the seeds, and most likely, put them in friendly soil, place them in sunlight (if they are not shade loving), and then work on those plants every single day? If it storms with great wind, you may have to cover your plants or shield them. If there is a drought, you take a chance to water them more. Even under all the perfect weather conditions, you are not promised a flawless garden, but you can make it look pretty with proper care. The human soul is like that. And pretty much all that we can have or own or use needs maintenance constantly. A car, a garden, a marriage, a job, an education, a clear skinned-face, fingernails, kitchen sink – haha, a friendship, a prayer life, a politician’s diplomatic relationship in foreign affairs, a good attitude, a remembrance of Scripture with the Holy Spirit’s help, even family relationships need continual upkeep to be healthy, in my opinion. And I am the worst at that. But I think the idea is clear that if this law of the universe (the Law of Entropy) is so entrenched in what we see and do every day, or don’t do. So, how is it that following Christ would be different?
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Our Best Try -It IS of some Use!
We must treat our souls like a most precious possession, because it’s the only one thing we have that will leave with us when we die. Also, because it is the core of our self. Therefore, maintenance does matter, and though I humanly tend towards apathy or indifference, I realize I need the Holy Spirit to help me constantly. When we know that, we can truthfully do something about it. I should say too: this is not so that we should always be hyper-busy, but Scriptures do teach us about busyness in our conversation with God – “praying always” (I Thessalonians 5:16-18) and “always giving ourselves more thoroughly to the work of the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58) and “being instant (with evangelism) in season and out of season” (II Timothy 4:2) . I believe if we do so, pray continually, seek God for individual health, be active in witness to unbelievers and nurturing those that are already believers, that we would be aware of what it takes for something to thrive. Sometimes, our efforts do matter.
Image by Grae Dickason from Pixabay
Rebekah's Reflections 