Jenny and I are looking for a new car…. again… My Hyundai is not completely dead, it will just require more in repairs than it is worth to Jenny and I. We need a new vehicle any way with our family growing.
The process of looking for a new car is both exciting and discouraging. It is wonderfully exciting to think about the options available and the niceness of a new vehicle. It is discouraging to see the price tags.
I have never been one for loans, of any kind really. I always swore I would not have a car loan. The car I am looking at getting is well beyond what we can pay without a loan… Why?
It is a very complicated story really but I will try to make it short.
First, we need a dependable, safe, and large enough vehicle for the entire family. I don’t want to have to worry about my car breaking down on the road with Jenny and the kids stranded some where. That’s the easy one. The second reason is a tad more complicated.
Jenny has never gotten much stability from me and of course that means not much security. She feels every thing we do will be temporary and transitional and despairs that we will never have anything lasting. I can hardly blame her; I have failed her greatly in this area. So the second reason I am considering the loan is two fold. I would like to give her something she hasn’t had yet, a nice sign of normal life, and I would like to build credit so the next job we move to can be a permanent position and we can buy a house.
I wish I could say what exactly all of this will look like, but the fact is I can not.
I think about the things that come to mind when I consider what it is I want for Jenny and I. The simple life is what comes to mind. Simple things like security, friends, family, hard work, and time shared. With just a few of the nicer extras to enjoy. I want to be a good friend, great dad, and even better husband; all of it grounded in my relationship with God. I want to be a strong leader and example.
Hebrews 12:14-17 deals with the basics of life too.
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16 that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.
These are the basics, the previously mentioned “goal” of the earthly Christian walk. Strive for peace with everyone. Seek the holiness that brings us to God, His saving grace and our walk of faith. These are the things we do for ourselves. We live lives characterized by the peace of God in the midst of a world of chaos; a peace that cannot be explained. We seek to work out our relationship with God and continue to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus.
The the author reveals to us the basic “goals” regarding what we do outwardly. “See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God”. Wow that sounds difficult. The language here is not one of mere suggestion see to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God. Well if you have ever wondered if you were called to evangelism, wonder no more. In fact this is listed as one of the simple and basic ideas of the Christian “goal”.
The next part deals with our relation interaction. No “root of bitterness” that causes trouble reminds us of the foundational need for forgiveness. Basically, God has forgiven you, you need to tell others He has forgiven them, and then you need to model it. Another way of saying this is, be a peace maker. Bitterness and strife in a Christian’s life will lead many further from Christ and His likeness.
Finally we are told to make sure we are not sexually immoral or unholy like Esau. A good way to view this section is to say, “don’t be focused on earthly things”. Sexual immorality is one of the biggest examples of a self-centered earthly focus. In fact it is hard to imagine a bigger example. To clarify his intent the author brings up the example of Esau. Why?
Esau sold his birth right because he was focused on earthly things and momentary needs, not on eternal blessings and rewards. While he later deeply regretted his loss of focus, it still lost him the blessing. Holy means set apart, completely different. Esau was as un-set apart as you could get, he traded the reward for a passing desire and stayed focused on himself.
The simple things in life seem to be our focus most of the time. The author of Hebrews says these are the basics to running our race, yet we treat them like some complex hidden code. I wonder if we viewed the world more like little children if it would be easier for us to realize the simplicity of our race, even if it is hard.
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