About a year ago, I set out to maintain this blog. I really wanted to document my thoughts and share the things I love with you guys. As you may already know, I failed miserably. I would love to make a list of all the things that are to blame, but only one would be the truth: lazy me. And so my next thought follows.
It's a new year, and with that comes the usual self-examination. I have no idea what yours brought to your attention, but mine reminded of something that's been on my mind for the past few months: resource management. Seems I have a habit of letting important things fall to the back of my mind. Who knew?
The thought started with a simple realization: everything, ever, belongs to The Lord. Before these last few months, I would have immediately admitted this fact, but there's a difference in "knowing" something and really truly knowing it. The simple things can often take the longest to sink in. This one did for me.
Just think about it for a second. Every single thing you've ever own, wanted, eaten, given away, spent, used, thrown away, built, and so on, all belong to The Lord. All of it. If we have something, it's because God has allowed us to have it. I believe that with this comes two responsibilities.
The first of these responsibilities is using the possessions and abilities we have to demonstrate the love of Christ and bring others into a relationship with Him. There are masses of people who don't understand their need for Christ, and we are the only soldiers in that war. When people think of ministry, they think of preaching and evangelizing. But those things are only a branch of the entire tree. Do you have money? Fill someone's tank up and tell them you did it because Christ loves them. Have time? Volunteer to help someone. It can be serving at a homeless shelter or making repairs at your neighbor's house. Have a home? Invite people in for dinner and share the love of our Lord.
The second of these is as simple as this: enjoy it. If God has blessed you with a beautiful home, enjoy it for what it is: a gift from your Father in Heaven. If you are married, enjoy that and invest in it. If God has allowed you to be wealthy, enjoy it. I feel like there are two extremes to avoid, here. Don't enjoy your stuff so much that your happiness depends on it, or that you never make a difference in someone's life. But in all that you do, don't forget to be happy. Following Christ is a challenging, yet rewarding, experience. And He wants us to experience it to the full, from now until forever.
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