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Seeking Things Above


If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (Col 3:1)

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2008-05-27

Faith of a Child

The Plunge
We had a pretty uneventful Memorial Day. We just went to the Grandparents to swim and then came home, ate burgers, watched a movie, and went to bed. However, it was a great day. Anytime you can just hang-out and relax with family and friends is a great day.

The grandparents have a pool and my kids love to swim. Well, they love the water. The two oldest ones swim well but the two youngest ones not so much. The four-year old is easy to keep an eye on in the pool. She just hangs out on steps wearing a full life-jacket. The six-year old is the problem. He can't swim well on his own yet, but he has no fear. That's our fearless, non-swimming six-year old taking the Nestle tea plunge in the picture above.

Our youngest son keeps us on our toes, but I am so jealous of how he loves life. When I look at how he embraces and enjoys life I can't help but see the analogy of the abundant life promised to us from Jesus (John 10:10). Why do I find it so hard to live the abundant Christian life?

One of the reasons that our son embraces life is that he rarely thinks about any negative consequences. Now, this is much to the dismay of his parents and we have our work cut out for us. However, when it comes to matters of faith and our Christian walk, that is the exact attitude we need to have. If we worry about what "bad" things might happen if we follow Christ completely, we will miss the abundant life promised to us.

What are some of the fears that prevent our abundant life?


  • I barely have enough money in the bank to pay my bills, how can I afford to give some of it away?
  • If I share my faith at work or school I may offend someone?
  • If I put boundaries on my kids that are more stringent than the boundaries set by their friends' parents, I won't be the cool parent or my child might rebel.
  • If I don't sacrifice my family time for work I may lose my job or lose opportunities to advance at my job. How will I provide for my family if I am not successful with my career?
  • If I don't have my children in year-around extra-curricular activities, they won't be as athletic, as graceful or as popular as the other kids their age.
  • If I join a small group at church the others in the group might find out that I really don't have it all together?
  • How can I serve the church? I don't have any gifts that could be useful.

I'm sure there are many more fears that you can think of and that you may even face yourself in your walk.

It's time that we "grown-ups" take the Nestle tea plunge with our Christian walk and live fearlessly for Christ.


Mark 10:15 (ESV)
15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Please comment to this post with any fears you have faced in your walk but more importantly, any examples of the abundant life you have experienced by fearless embracing what God has set before you.


Zemanta Pixie

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

hello tony =)

That abundant life the Lord promised to all of us made me think too. There was a time when I said, "Lord, I want that. If that is one of your promises, why is it not true in my life?"

then I found out in order to get this we need to follow Christ whatever the cost whatever it takes. It involves getting out of our comfort zone and trusting Jesus!

I never intended to get married. I was happy being single serving the Lord in our church. I also thought marriage was literally full of suffering. I was very scared of not having enough to live a comfortable life. so why get yourself into it. Then, I found out I was called to get married and have a family- it was a struggle accepting it but I fell in love and I wanted to follow God's will in my life. Where He called you, there He will bless you. Dont be afraid to take risks. Beacause there He will show His greatness!!

I've been married 1 year and acouple of months now. Sure we've encountered problems but we work it through with God and I've never been happier!!! The Lord is also blessing us financially and I am confident that my family will never know want. I also have a baby on the way I am a bit scared but I know the Lord will see me through and I am soooo happy with what I have =)

Tony said...

Wendy -

Thanks for commenting. Great news that you have a baby on the way. It can be scary starting a family and it will have its challenges and you and your husband will be tested but most of all you will be blessed. We had our first child after we were married for 15 months. Now we have four and waiting to see what else God has planned.

Tony

Anonymous said...

What are some of the fears that prevent our abundant life?

The largest theme in my life has always been what people may think.

I can notice at the root of many of my fears that *that* was the one that it always boiled down to.

#1. When I was going to give a talk in front of over 50 people or so that could/would have helped people. [I had fear. I did it anyway after visualizing what the worst that could happen would be. Had I not done this I could have easily backed out.]

#2. Having fear in defending the "poor kid" in class. [I defended him anyway and removed the kick me sign and sat beside him in chemistry...DESPITE being thought of as mutiny-ing from the *cool group*. Side note: I was not excommunicated. In fact, I think some of the kids ending up admiring that I did that.]

#3. Fear of holding friends up when I feel the need to return the shopping cart to the store. I do it anyway because in my conscience I could not know that I had contributed to someone's scratched car.

#4. Fear of people looking at me like a freak because I actively save insects from certain death. I do it anyway because my conscience [again] could not take knowing I contributed to the demise of a helpless creature.

These are just a few I can think of. The resultant is always "I do it anyway" because my *conscience*/my *God inside*/ my *spirit* is a more powerful tool than the opinions of other people when it comes down to it.

There was a time I used to drink that "God voice" away because I used to fear people so. I no longer do that so I have no choice but to put peoples' opinions of me on the backburner.

As a result...it's taken time...but it's gotten to the point I TRULY do not care what people think. I wrote an article on it recently to try to help others with that because I do believe it to be the #1 reason we fail to live our authentic life.

When I realized that this was my life and no one else's, it just seemed to vanish. In the meantime...I am a believer in feeling the fear and doing it anyway. The result is a clear conscience and an entire world opens up with one of *them* on our side. :)

Tony said...

samsara -

Great insights. Thank you.

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