My Own Effort?!? (Revisited)

Today's RST is a response to the "My Own Effort?!?" thought--thanks for sharing and for the idea, Noemi! (It follows the original thought below...)

"Have you lost your senses?" Paul wrote to the Galatians. "After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?" Galatians 3:3

Amen to that...and it dovetails nicely with Paul's words to the church in Philippi: "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."
Philippians 1:6, 2:13.

God does His part and more--we just have to show up and partake of the blessing--but we do have to show up, and often, in order to be under the influence of the "Right Spirit"--otherwise we're under the influence of "the same-old-same-old."


"Absolutely we have to show up! I've been reading Thomas Kinkade's The Many Loves of Marriage and he speaks about creating the opportunities for connecting -- with our children, with our spouse. And showing up is just that, creating the opportunity to allow Christ to come into our hearts, our lives, our day -- EVERY day."

Maybe several times a day? Most days that's what it takes. The crucial part is this: note that it takes a purposeful, active decision--to create the quiet space, the opportunity for true and deep dialogue (not your monologue) communion with God (and from this source then flows the love and communion with those around us--even those not entirely lovable).

It won't happen by accident--nothing worthwhile or lasting ever does. It takes a conscious choice, and then it takes the determined follow-through of action on that decision. It's true that in the last part of Matthew 6 God does promise that He'll take care of our needs and day-to-day issues as well as the big ones, but He also says that He can only do that when we're on the same page with Him. Neglect your relationship with God, fail to make the time to read and pray, and you risk failing at all your other endeavors as well. It's not harsh, or arbitrary: it's just reality.


You've been prayed for today...