It was quite embarrassing. Several years ago, we were meeting our home group at the church building. Two of my boys were horsing around and one hurt his brother. I talked with him sternly about the seriousness of what he had done. After we cleaned up, it was time to go. I noticed that this particular child was not around. After a while, all of the adults were searching for him. We could not find him anywhere. I was fairly certain he had reacted to my discipline by hiding somewhere. So, not knowing what else to do, we went out to our cars and just sat there. In a few moments our son came walking out from behind the very large church building. We were all relieved.
During our search for our son, there were tempting thoughts arising in my mind like these: "I am in the ministry. What will they think of me?" "How can I teach on parenting at Grace Life International and have a child act like this?" I knew these thoughts were not coming from me but from indwelling sin. As we were driving away, I turned to Ellen and said, "I sure am glad that Jesus is our life and not our kids". That was the end of those tempting thoughts.
It is so very easy to make our life our kids, our wife, our husband, our job, our sports team, our hobbies, etc. By "life", I mean, that we make them the primary source of a meaningful life. That person, activity or organization is where we derive most of our joy in life. We believe that we cannot be happy unless these are close to perfect.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of things which go awry because of this. We try to control our kids, spouse, job, etc. to the point that it can become an obsession. This is often called co-dependence. At Grace Life International, we believe it is better defined by the words "relational idolatry", because we are attempting to get these to do for us, what our relationship with God Himself can provide for us. No wonder Galatians 5:20 says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions."
It took me many years to understand what Colossians 3:4 means when it says, "For when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." Christ in us alone is our life. Our relationship with Him is our primary source of meaning in life and power to live like who we are in Christ. When we believe Jesus is our Life, we can actually love and enjoy our relationships, jobs, exercise, and hobbies more than we can imagine.
I love what Eric Liddel said to his sister in the movie, "Chariots of Fire". She was concerned that his running for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics was moving him away from his relationship with Christ. His response gave clear evidence that the opposite was true because running was not his life, Jesus was. He said, "When I run, I feel His pleasure." He actually enjoyed Jesus as his life so much, that he could sense how much God enjoyed his running.
Who or what are we making our "life" today? Maybe it's time to reconsider this as we bear down on the end of 2012. Why don't we all pray, "Father, show me what or who I have been attempting to make my life. If He reveals something, renounce it, and agree with Him that Christ alone is our Life even if we don't feel it! God give me revelation understanding about what this really means."
Live Free in Christ,
Mark Maulding, Founder & President
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding
During our search for our son, there were tempting thoughts arising in my mind like these: "I am in the ministry. What will they think of me?" "How can I teach on parenting at Grace Life International and have a child act like this?" I knew these thoughts were not coming from me but from indwelling sin. As we were driving away, I turned to Ellen and said, "I sure am glad that Jesus is our life and not our kids". That was the end of those tempting thoughts.
It is so very easy to make our life our kids, our wife, our husband, our job, our sports team, our hobbies, etc. By "life", I mean, that we make them the primary source of a meaningful life. That person, activity or organization is where we derive most of our joy in life. We believe that we cannot be happy unless these are close to perfect.
As you can imagine, there are a lot of things which go awry because of this. We try to control our kids, spouse, job, etc. to the point that it can become an obsession. This is often called co-dependence. At Grace Life International, we believe it is better defined by the words "relational idolatry", because we are attempting to get these to do for us, what our relationship with God Himself can provide for us. No wonder Galatians 5:20 says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions."
It took me many years to understand what Colossians 3:4 means when it says, "For when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." Christ in us alone is our life. Our relationship with Him is our primary source of meaning in life and power to live like who we are in Christ. When we believe Jesus is our Life, we can actually love and enjoy our relationships, jobs, exercise, and hobbies more than we can imagine.
I love what Eric Liddel said to his sister in the movie, "Chariots of Fire". She was concerned that his running for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics was moving him away from his relationship with Christ. His response gave clear evidence that the opposite was true because running was not his life, Jesus was. He said, "When I run, I feel His pleasure." He actually enjoyed Jesus as his life so much, that he could sense how much God enjoyed his running.
Who or what are we making our "life" today? Maybe it's time to reconsider this as we bear down on the end of 2012. Why don't we all pray, "Father, show me what or who I have been attempting to make my life. If He reveals something, renounce it, and agree with Him that Christ alone is our Life even if we don't feel it! God give me revelation understanding about what this really means."
Live Free in Christ,
Mark Maulding, Founder & President
www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding
