Ever had an argument and the other person just does not get it.
They just do not understand what you are trying to tell them. You wonder why they dont get it. Are they stubborn? Are they ignorant of the facts? Or is it simply that if they admitted that they were wrong or agreed with you, it means that they have to yield to or submit?
I listen to Christians talk about Jesus and what he has done for them. I hear them telling others of how God has blessed them (not always mentioning what the blessings are). These same Christians even profess to know what Jesus should be doing for them. The more popular statements are about how the Lord will bless them and that things will turn out in their favour. This is normally followed by misquoting Romans 8:28.
Do we Christians get It? Do we understand the fundamental message of Jesus? Yes, Jesus died for us and so we are saved.This is a unique and wonderful gift and there is nothing that can take it away from us, nor is there anything we can do to earn or lose the gift of salvation. But do we get what Jesus wants from us, or are we the stubborn ones not wanting to admit that we are wrong and that we have to submit to God and his way of life?
Why, when we are called to be a part of such a wonderful calling do we see Christians hurting over and over again, year after year with the same problems? I then have to wonder if we just dont get it.
Where is God?
I know the darkness I have been in and have wondered what it is that I am missing. We suffer for years with the same hurt and pain. I sometimes feel like the world is spinning out of control and all I am doing is calling out to God asking him to fix or change the wrongs, the unfairness, and to take away the hurt. Yet I wake up in the morning facing the same thing. I wake up wondering where is God, and why did he not help me. Then I have to ask, Am I missing something? Dont I get it?
The disciples had just witnessed three years of overwhelming mind boggling revelations during the ministry of Jesus Christ, and now Jesus is on his way back to the Father. He has given them some very important instructions as to what they must do and wow duh! they ask him the wrong question Hey Jesus, are you about to restore your Kingdom here in Israel? The disciples just did not get it (Acts 1:6-11).
Not only do they miss the point in that Jesus would not restore His Kingdom immediately, but they are only focused on themselves and want Jesus to restore the Kingdom of Israel, forgetting about the rest of mankind. After all their experiences with Jesus and his tremendous Gospel of love, they still wanted their own problems sorted out first.
Where are our hearts? We have heard sermon after sermon and read article after article about where our hearts should be. Is this not what we Christians in essence believe, that we must store our treasure in heaven, because where our treasure is, that is where our hearts are (Matthew 6: 19-21)?
We know the story of the man who built bigger barns to hold his increased wealth. The Bible calls him a fool. Why? Because he was wealthy? Because he was working hard and doing well? No! Because he was focused on the wrong thing, he was focused on himself and how the riches would benefit him so he would be able to take life easy; eat, drink and be merry (Luke 12:16 -21).
What about the rich man who came to Jesus asking what he must do to get eternal life? Jesus tells him, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honour your father and mother,and love your neighbour as yourself.
All of this I have done, says this rich man and it appears that he was a good man and that he recognised Jesus.Yet even after getting a direct lesson from God, the rich man turns away sad, thinking about his wealth. (Matthew 19: 16-26). He just did not get it!
Would we have been any different? How often do we say, If God would just tell me what he wants then I would be
. No you wouldnt! The disciples were with Jesus and he told them and they did not get it. The rich man turned his back on the Creator of the Universe because he did not get it!
Our own comfort
In fact we are exactly the same. What do we ask God for? When we go on our knees what do we cry for in the name of Jesus? I know I am no different. When my heart is sore, when my wallet is empty, and when I am struggling with my anger towards others I know that I dont get it. What do I end up asking for? Thats right, I ask, Jesus are you going to restore your Kingdom today?
We automatically look to our own comfort, our own relief. We want Jesus to bless us, we want him to fix our problems on our terms. We want Jesus to restore a Kingdom according to our own design. We start looking to our own comfort and our focus is then wrong. Then we begin to declare what Jesus has done for us, or what he should be doing for us.
Naturally, if we are in pain or have a need, it is not wrong to ask God for help, because after all we are only human and we need physical things to get us through the day and it is only through the power of God that we can cope with life. If we can say like Jesus, not my will but Thy will be done, it is then that we are starting to get it.
The question, however, is where is our focus? What are our motives? What is driving us? And most importantly how do we react when we do not get what we ask for? Does our faith begin to fail? When things are not working like we want them to, or even when the world is against us do we blame God? Do we begin to question his authority and plans?
Where is our treasure?
In essence I believe that for something to change, we have to change something. If we as Christians are suffering and hurting, then we have to understand where our treasure is. Then we must look to see what we believe God wants us to do. This we do through Bible study, meditation, prayer and even seeking advice. And then when we have truly put our life in Gods hands we are going to get the right advice, read an article, hear a sermon, and or even read something in the scriptures that we do not like.Something that we do not like about ourselves, or something that we do not even want to believe about ourselves. It is now that we are starting to get it.
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