Being comfortable in life is an indication of contentment with the status quo, and needing nothing else to feel fulfilled or accomplished. If you are comfortable, it probably means you’re in good health, have a good job, a beautiful family, and a loving church. And if occasional problems should surface, you could easily find solutions to them. Christian, your life might be going in the direction you want it to go, but do you see the direction our world is going, and are you satisfied with that? If you are, then we have a problem, and if not, what are you doing about it? What are you doing to advance the Kingdom of God?
Let me just caution you, this world is not our permanent home; you are not supposed to feel at home here. We are just journeying through, so please don’t get too comfortable. If you get too comfortable, you will be choosing things of this world over God; you will forget about your real home, and stop looking forward to going there. In fact, the Scriptures tell us, “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you” (1 John 2:15). On the other hand, if you don’t make this place your home, you’ll most likely focus on getting ready and making sure everything is in order for when the time comes for your home-going.
While we are on this journey, we are also in training to become godly. The Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16 NLT). Nobody acquires skills without the proper training. We need to imitate the training routine of athletes as the Scriptures admonish us—they train hard, and with discipline. Whereas, in their case, only one person wins the prize in a race; in our case, we all get to win the prize--heaven! (See 1 Corinthians 9:24). We train through trials, difficulties, and God’s chastening. Our dependence on the Word of God and prayer as we respond to difficult and challenging situations helps us grow more and more in our relationship with God.
Our success in the race will also require we get rid of whatever weight or hindrances could slow us down in running, like ungodly relationships and alliances, and bad habits. And should we fall during the race, we should get up, dust ourselves off, and get back in the race. The more determined we are to get to the finish line, the easier it will be to get rid of the unnecessary baggage that makes our run more difficult.
So, what should we be doing while we wait for the call home?
● First and foremost, let’s make sure our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. The only way our name would be in that book is if we have repented of our sins and placed faith in Jesus for salvation: “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.” (Romans 3:25 NLT).
Once we are certain we are saved, we must obey. Obedience includes the following aspects of Christian living:
● Prayer—We need to be in ongoing communication with God at all times because without Him we can’t do anything; we need His strength, wisdom, and direction. “Don’t worry about anything: instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He Has done. Then you will experience God’s peace” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT). Also, “Never stop praying” (1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT), and “Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20 NLT).
● Bible reading—We can’t really obey God if we don’t know His will as revealed through His Word. We need to read and study it, and then ask for the grace to understand and obey it. The knowledge of the Word and obeying it bring about our transformation and the renewal of our minds.
● Live holy lives—our lives should tell the world that we belong to Christ. We can demonstrate that through love for others and respecting authority in our environment. People might make fun of us sometimes, but let’s remember they made fun of our Lord as well. “Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you” (John 15:20 NLT). Jesus’ charge to us is, “Let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16 NLT). It’s not enough to claim we know God; we have to show it by the way we live (see Titus 1:16). Jesus once warned His disciples, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matthew 7:21 NLT). Doing His will is key! Next, let’s live out our faith through obedience to the Scriptures. Our obedience is proof that we love the Lord (see 1 John 5:3). Our claim that we believe in Jesus should be coupled with obedience because, like mentioned before, only those who actually do the will of God will enter heaven.
As we obey the Scriptures, we experience a gradual change that makes us more like our Lord Jesus, empowering us to think and act like He would. He has charged us, “don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2 NLT).
● Love the church—the Church is the Body of Christ. We have a responsibility to love and care for other believers: “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 13:1). Peter encourages the same thing, “Now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart” (! Peter 1:22). And John reminds us, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar, for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has … this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers” (! John 4:20-21).
● Do good works—Doing good works was God’s reason and purpose for creating us: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10). The word ‘masterpiece’ is brilliant; the psalmist breaks it down when he says we are fearfully and wonderfully made. That status in Christ has prepared us to do good works, so we have no excuse for not doing them. And actually, our acts of good deeds are an indication that our faith is alive: “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works” (James 2:26). When you are too comfortable here, you are most likely living selfishly, caring only about yourself, and do not have good deeds on your radar.
● Allow our thoughts to be on things that are virtuous and praiseworthy. If we focus on our heavenly home, we will have a passion to live right, think right, and do right. The apostle Paul admonished the Philippians, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think of things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (4:8).
● Witnessing—Jesus commands us the same way He commanded His early disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations …” (Matthew 28:19). The disciples took that command seriously, and so should we. “The disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them …” (Mark 16:20). When was the last time you shared the gospel with another person or prayed for someone to come to salvation? Do you care that people are dying without Christ, facing God’s judgment and condemnation someday? Let’s get diligently involved with God’s mission—the reason He came to earth—to snatch mankind from the jaws of sin and death.
If you are not taking these responsibilities seriously, it means you are too comfortable here; please reevaluate your priorities and make the changes that will put you on the path to waiting eagerly for our Savior’s return.
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