As Promised...

Hey, better late than never. It is only 11:27pm my time, so still technically today! Anyhow, I'll get right to it...

 

On Sunday Pastor Glenn spoke on "Leaving". That day I did not voice the irony I saw in that title... seeing as it was Valentine's Day. But that is another trail for another day. You can check out his sermon at pccwired.org, as you always can. This is a great series we are on, if you haven't noticed.  So his main point was this, at least in my mind, that we are invited to follow Jesus, and that usually always means leaving something, or someone.  He said that there will always be "things" that come up, but we must not let them cause us to wait, but we must follow straight away.

We must be willing to let go in order for God to take us to a great place... and that is where the rub comes in. You see, what trips us up is not usually where we are going, but what we must leave behind. So the question posed was this, "What do you need to leave?"

 

At the risk of being humbled more, I pose to you my answer: Comfort & Laziness.  Yes, that is what I must leave, must hasten away from, must choose to turn from.  Some close to me might laugh, thinking I'm being absurd.  I could understand that as I do a lot in life. I don't "appear" to be resting on my laurels, but here is where the process of sanctification comes in I'm finding... the process of becoming holy, of becoming more like Christ. I take you back to the parable of the talents from Scripture.  You see, if you are given 10 talents to use, and yet are only using say 7 of them, you may look pretty good, like you are doing it all, to many people.  For some were only given 5 or even 1 talent, so you are far surpassing their output in life if you look at it that way. However, OTHERS is not the measuring stick being used. YOUR talents are the measure, your God given purpose and abilities is what is expected... so anything less is mediocrity, the specialty plate of all-you-can eat buffets.  So this brings it back to me.  Please know I'm not saying, "I have 10 talents!", I am not trying to compare myself to anyone, I'm saying I have been convicted (again, hate it, but need it) that I am not fully being whom I was created to be.  As the saying goes, "God is not finished with me yet!"  I have found myself liking the comfort of my mediocrity in some areas, the warm bosom of stepping out just enough to get by in life but not enough to fully break the sweat... kinda like some girls that go to the gym.  They have all the right clothes, the newest tennies, they assume the position on a treadmill or venture onto an elliptical, but you know, they just never really work out, and are a far distance from breaking a sweat.  They have all the right appearances, even turn the pedals on the bike, but they aren't really doing much at all.  Yeah, laziness. I gotta get rid of it.

 

"I have conquered an empire, but I have not been able to conquer myself." ~Peter the Great

 

Bruce Wilkinson states, "Progressive holiness means that Christians grow from one level of holiness to a greater level, while lessening their practice of unholiness.  Progressive holiness means you can and should continually move forward and upward in your spiritual life, becoming more like Christ... Progressive holiness is to be one of your life's chief goals and passions.  How you sow your life will result in what you reap, whether holiness or unholiness."   It makes sense to me that if this is my goal, to grow from level to level in holiness, then I'm going to have to leave many things behind.  BUT, it is not for me, or for you, if your hope is in Christ, to look at in sadness... for what we leave pales in comparison to what we will miss if we stay behind.

 

So, what do you need to leave?