cktimes.ca Archives for The Pastoral Lens
The Pastoral Lens
Opening Day
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Okay, so the title this week doesn't sound all that spiritual. I must confess, the winter is long for me, especially if my beloved Cleveland Indians were not part of the previous fall's post-season baseball drama. At the first announcement of spring training workouts I salivate like Pavlov's dog, anticipating the hardball maven's official beginning to spring: Opening Day! As I write this, the Indians have just finished a 9-inning slaughter of their out-of-state foes, the Chicago White Sox, by a score of 12-5. I balanced a televised game between the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays in the living room with a radio broadcast of the Tribe game in the kitchen. Despite blue skies and above average temps outside, I found a way to absorb the delights of opening day in the Major League baseball season. I washed AND dried a huge whack of dishes just to stay near the radio.What is it about the things that we love that causes us to spend the time and energy to pursue them to the utmost? How, with all the trappings of a busy schedule and a seemingly never-ending list of stuff to get done, are we able to carve out the time to follow our passions? The answer is very simple. It is found in Proverbs 16:26, where it says: "The person who labours, labours for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on." Have you ever been watching a program on television, perhaps late at night, and a commercial comes on for a delicious, juicy burger? It may be cold and blustery outside, and the nearest burger joint is a 30-minute drive away, but if you want it bad enough, you'll get out of your comfy chair, brave the elements, and go get that burger! We live for our passions. We'll find excuses to avoid doing the things we don't want to do, but with equal skill we find a way to get to those things we love.
Spiritually speaking, what would it take to get you so fired up for God that you wouldn't miss a church service? Or, how could the Bible be so captivating that if you read nothing else in a day, you would surely read God's Word? Several years ago a good friend of mine challenged me to read the Bible every day. He said that if I could do it for a month I would want to do it every day for the rest of my life. I took that challenge and can honestly say to this day, I can't imagine starting a day without reading my Bible. I look forward to it and couldn't imagine my day without this special time with God. True, there are those days when I have had a restless night and wake up tired and reading God's Word doesn't have the same grab for me. However, those days are few and far between. I made a decision back when I took that challenge that reading the Bible each day was something I WANTED to do. By declaring a desire, I sowed a seed of passion. That seed has flourished and grown. I have spent time praying, asking God to fan into flame my desire for Him. He has been faithful to answer my prayers.
As you read this article today you may be in any of a number of situations with the Lord. If you are a fiollower whose walk with God has waned, ask Him for a fresh filling today. If you are a seeker who has never discovered the joy and fulfillment of a personal relationship with God, ask Him to fill that void. Finally, if you are a skeptic, or a doubter, or even a scoffer of the things of God, ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you. He is up for the challenge. If we can get fired up for a favourite sports team and pour our time and devotion into that, surely the Lord can deliver many times the effect for us spirtitually. It depends how hungry you are for Him. Why not give God a try today?
