The Christian Life

Thinking about life as we live it, I wonder what we will look back and say when it is over. I hope for all of us we can say we lived a great life and we lived it according to the way the Father wanted us to live it. Which leads me to my post.

At the end of Apostle Paul’s ministry he looked back on his work and said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:7). When it comes to the Race of Life and the Christian Life, I think we have a series of choices. Every morning when we wake up you have a choices.

o   1^st- We can choose not to run, but if we don’t run we can’t win or we won’t succeed and we are surely not going to honor God.

o   2^nd- , We can choose to run but not run our best; and if we don’t run your best we  are sure to lose and again are we truly going to honor God by doing this?

o   3^rd- , We can choose to run, meaning run our best, and strive for the prize by focusing on the finish, which is what God has asked of us.

That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul wanted us to do in this passage of Scripture. If we are going to run the race and win the race, we are going to have to focus on the finish.

The Christian Life is starts by knowing Jesus Christ as our one and only Savior which is which delivers what we are saved from. After making that decision I think we then have to find our purpose and determine what we are saved for.

GALATIANS 6:7-10 says, ⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith. If we are to remember that we are in a race as far as the Christian Life is concerned, then we need to remember 3 actions that we must take in order to reach the finish line  and live the best Christian Life we can live.
I. DON’T GIVE IN TO SINNING 
In Galatians 6: 7 & 8 - “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked.”

Satan is a liar and the father of lies. If there is one thing that he would like to tell us it is that we can sin and get away with it. This verse could also be translated, “Don’t fool yourself.”  We are living in a generation today in my opinion, who has fooled themselves into thinking they can sin and get away with it and they are truly not living what I see as the Christian Life. Think about it, if people really thought that they could NOT get away with their sin, they would do their best not to sin.

 Psalm 10:11 says, the wicked think to themselves: God has forgotten, God has hidden his face. God never sees anything!  We are plainly told, “God is not mocked”
Mocks root meaning is, “pig snout.” In other words, Paul is saying, “You cannot thumb your nose up at God. We cannot be fool God. I personally believe that it is an insult to the knowledge and character of God for us to think that we can sin and get away with it.  I have learned that people feel like they can fool be and sometimes and even all the time they can, but we cannot fool God any of the time.
- Well the second part Galatians 6 of verse 7 tells us, “for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.” This is the law of the harvest, the principles of sowing and reaping. We all have to understand we reap what we have sown. If you sow corn, you will not reap strawberries. We have to understand the harvest is always the product of the seed.
- If you sow the seeds of sin you will reap the harvest of sorrow. Job 4:8 says, “As I’ve observed, those who plow sin and sow trouble will harvest it.”

Galatians 6:8 says, for he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. If we sow to the flesh then we are surely going to reap corruption. We have to understand that sin petrifies the human soul.  Our sin sours our salvation and it truly robs us of joy. 

We have to understand we reap ONLY what we sow and you reap MORE than we sow. If a farmer sows a kernel of corn, he doesn’t just reap another kernel of corn, he reaps a stalk of corn, full of ears of corn.
I think about that statement and the first thing that comes to mind is Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.” In other words, Jesus said, THE MORE YOU GIVE THE MORE YOU’LL GET!
What about, a farmer has a jar of wheat. Now he can take that jar of wheat and make ONE loaf of bread. But if he takes that same jar of wheat…rather than making just one loaf of bread, he goes out into the field and sows it and he will soon have enough wheat to make a grocery store full of bread.

You know the Benedictines would have agreed with this thought process as well. They believed in hard work, taking care of what you have and investing into relationships and community in their monasteries. I truly believe they would agree with You reap what you sow! 

THIS IS FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

·         Did you know that the way to get what you need from other people is to give other people what they need?

·         If you want more friends, be a friend to more people.

·         If you want more understanding from others, be more understanding to others.

We have to remember we reap only what we sow and we reap more than we sow.
Another principle to remember is, that we reap later than what we sow. For example, a farmer does not sow on Monday and reap on Tuesday, does he? In farming there are processes that come before harvesting: cultivation, irrigation, incubation, and then comes the harvesting.
- The point is…don’t give in to sinning.  

II. DON’T GIVE UP IN SERVING

Galatians 6:9 says, And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. The law of the harvest was not given to discourage us but to encourage us.  I have come to understand that working for God is a joy, but it can also bring disappointment and discouragement. You can feel like you’re spinning your wheels and that there is no real fruit from your labor. Paul specifically tells us not to “grow weary” or to “lose heart”. Both of terms mean to grow so tired from working that you feel like giving up.

My Dad use to tinker in farming. One thing I learned is that farming is a lot of hard work. A farmer literally lives by the sweat of his brow. The same is true for God’s work. We have to understand, God’s work is hard work.  If we are going to make new disciples and truly live the Christian life then we need to be an offensive church and not a defensive church.

We have to understand that Jesus doesn’t want those with a faint of heart.  We have to that God’s work is wonderful work, it can be hard work and tough. Paul says, do not lose heart and don’t quit. I truly believe we will be amazed when we get to heaven and see how many Christians were just one minute away from victory but they quit. 2 John 1:8, watch yourselves so that you don’t lose what we’ve worked for but instead receive a full reward.
I once read that George Mueller, a Christian Evangelist during the 1800’s had this neighbor that he prayed for. Well that might not sound like a big deal but you see George prayed for this neighbor’s salvation for 45 years the reading said. Do you know when the neighbor gave his life to Christ? It was at George Mueller’s Funeral. You see folks we don’t ever need to give up or quit. The Lord of the harvest has promised that if we continue to sow, not grow weary, not lose heart, not quit, we will reap a harvest. Paul said it best  to the Corinthians in  I Corinthians 15:58, as a result of all this, my loved brothers and sisters, you must stand firm, unshakable, excelling in the work of the Lord as always, because you know that your labor isn’t going to be for nothing in the Lord.

Which brings me to the 3rd thing we need to get to Finish Line and Living out the Christian Life.
III. DON’T GIVE UP ON SHARING

Galatians 6:10, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”  The bible says we should take every opportunity we have to do good to all the people we possibly can, knowing we will be rewarded for doing what is good.

John Wesley had a simple but profound rule for his life: DO ALL THE GOOD YOU CAN, BY ALL THE MEANS YOU CAN, IN ALL THE WAYS YOU CAN, IN ALL THE PLACES YOU CAN, IN ALL THE TIMES YOU CAN,TO ALL THE PEOPLE YOU CAN,
AS LONG AS EVER YOU CAN.

We are to do good to everyone, and especially to those who are in the household of faith. We are to do good to all people, but it is to first start in the church.

With that said, I also believe as long as I have been a Christian, that the first allegiance to your spare time ought to be your church. I think it is fine to be a member of the Kiwani’s Club or some other civic organization; it’s great to be involved in sports or working with athletic teams, but the bible makes it clear that our priority ought to be the church.

- I Thess. 3:12 says, “May the Lord cause you to increase and enrich your love for each other and for everyone in the same way as we also love you.”  We have to understand in the Christian Life that every chance we get to do good and every chance we get to do something for God, we need to take it.

Which reminds of a beloved Saint during the Medieval Period. I highly suggest you look her up sometime. Her name is Brigid of Ireland; she  believed in not giving up and she believed in people and prayer. She believed God was like a light and she was to take that light into the darkness of the world. Even today people in Ireland still give here homage because of all the work she did and the legacy she left behind.

In knowing all that, I just want to share one more story with you. Have you ever heard of Henry C. Morrison? Henry was a great missionary who served the Lord in Africa for over 40 years. On the way back to United States, he began to wonder “will anyone remember us? Will anyone recall who we are? Will anyone meet us at the boat?” Well, unknown to Henry Morrison and his wife, Teddy Roosevelt, President of U.S., was also on board that ship. He had gone to Africa for a hunting trip. When ship pulled into New York harbor he looked to see if anyone had come to welcome them back home. Thousands of people were there cheering. Bands were playing. There were signs, banners, and billboards everywhere saying, “Welcome Home”. Henry and his wife were so excited about the crowds of people that were there to welcome them home and they went down to get their luggage, came back to the deck of the ship to get off and they realized that the parade of people were already gone. They had come to welcome Teddy Roosevelt. Henry Morrison went to his hotel room with a heavy heart. As he sat there on the bed, he asked his wife, “Honey, I just don’t get it. For forty years we poured our lives into ministry and service. And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!” His wife came and sat down next to her husband, she put her hand on his shoulder, and comforted him with words that he would never forget, “Henry, you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!” And may that be of comfort to you. It does not matter what takes place in this life, your reward is in heaven. Always remember, “You’re not home yet.”

In the Christian Life we have to keep our eye on the prize and that is our relationship with Jesus. We have to understand that it doesn’t matter if you’ve stumbled time and time again or even fallen on your face. What matters most is how we finish. We can’t use planet earth as a holding place; we have to make the best of the time we have here. God has called us to do our best so while we are her here lets live the life he has called us to live.

I end with this, this isn’t home for eternity but when life is drawing to an end would it not be great if we all could say like Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (II Timothy 4:7)