God Made Your Grandma

My wife, Casey, has begun writing a bit more, and those that help with this blog have okayed for some of that writing to be published here. I think you'll be blessed. 

-Pastor Ben

We all know that suffering is designed by God to sanctify us and to teach us that all we have is Christ.  But what about enjoying God’s good gifts that He gives us? Are these meant to sanctify us and teach us that all we have is Christ? In Joe Rigney’s book Things of Earth, we learn that, yes, even God’s blessings are designed to cause us to become more like Jesus as we enjoy them the way God intended. Have you ever felt just a little guilty for enjoying a vacation by the beach, or maybe a big slice of your grandma’s homemade apple pie, or maybe you’re not sure how excited to be when your child takes first place in his/her activity? We know that it is all too easy to worship the created instead of the creator, so we don’t want to find our joy and identity in earthly things (Romans 1:25).  But after all God did create the beach, and He did create apple trees, and He did give your child the ability to do whatever he/she is good at. Oftentimes our successes and material blessings can help reveal idols in our heart as we find ourselves worshiping these things instead of God.  The seasons of suffering in our lives should cause us to depend on God because our circumstances are difficult.  Likewise, the seasons of prosperity should cause us to depend on God because we know that all is from Him.  These good gifts reveal His character and should cause us to worship (James 1:17). We learn to treasure God by enjoying His gifts. Rigney writes, “Receive God’s gifts gladly, give thanks for them, and then be as generous with others as God has been with you.” He goes on to write, “Gratitude demands humility, since only those who acknowledge their dependence, their need, and their delight in the goodness and kindness of another can be grateful.” We know from the apostle Paul that we are to give thanks in all things (I Thes. 5:18). It is obviously easier to give thanks in all things when those things are enjoyable gifts.  It is therefore sometimes easier to become prideful and self-reliant when enjoying God’s earthly blessings. We must by God’s grace enjoy His good gifts as He intended them to be enjoyed. Seasons of suffering and blessing are both meant to point us toward Christ.  In both our tragedies and our triumphs, God gives us Christ, and that is enough. Rigney closes his book with these words:
“All you have is Christ,
--whether you have him in all the good gifts that he lavishes on you;
--whether you have him in all the gifts that you gladly receive and then freely give away in the cause of love;
--or whether you only have him in the loss of everything else that is precious to you.”

But, I Don’t Like Change!

What is it about change that makes us uneasy? Why do we often prefer that things would not change? Indeed, there is something about sameness that is rather appealing to us, but why? These kinds of questions demand hard thinking. After all, pursuing answers to questions such as these just may reveal that change (there, I said it!) is necessary. The past year has been marked by significant changes in my own life, and these changes have given me reason to pause and consider what the Lord would have me learn from them. As followers of Jesus, we need not fear change, whether great or small. I will give two reasons why we fear change and then explain why these fears need not be a part of the Christian’s life.

First, we fear change because we are comfortable with our routine. Surely, you’ve heard it said, “We’re creatures of habit!” When change is introduced to our daily activity we sometimes grow anxious because our routine has been disrupted. Second, we fear change because we fear failure, and we adamantly resist change because we fear that our weaknesses may be exposed through our failures.

Change is inevitable for every person, but followers of Christ have a sure and steady hope in the midst of change. We need not fear changes in our routine because we serve the sovereign God who has ordained the time of our birth, our death, and every passing moment between (Ps 139:16; Eph 1:11). Furthermore, as followers of Jesus, the Good Shepherd (John 10:12,14), we rest in our beloved Savior, believing that the changes that we experience are working for our good (Rom 8:28-30). This means that every detail of our life passes before the loving gaze of our gracious, heavenly Father who has ordained the end from the beginning and who loves us with an unfailing love (Isa 46:8-11; John 3:16). We need not fear change for fear of failure because we serve the risen Messiah who has redeemed us from a life of failure. The truth be told, each of us has failed in the most grievous way by failing to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The Scripture calls this failure sin. But God, in His matchless mercy, sent His only Son to bear the punishment for our failure – our sin (Isa 53:5; 2 Cor 5:21). As followers of Jesus we live day-by-day in the glorious reality that we’ve been forgiven our greatest failure and have been granted the supreme privilege of being called children of God (John 1:12; Rom 8:16). Consequently, every subsequent failure pales in comparison and directs us back to our blessed hope, Jesus. May our hearts and minds be continually strengthened in Christ as we face change.

Blake Gerber
Discipleship Minister