Doing God's Will Leads To "Forever"

"Today's Devotion" For October 7, 2005

Read: I John 2:15-17; Romans 1:18-32

DOING GOD'S WILL LEADS TO "FOREVER"

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (I Jn. 2:17)

Have you taken the time recently to really look at the world? Granted, the world is a troubled place. It's full of hatred, pain, suffering, war, and any number of other maladies that humanity can bring to bear on God's creation. At the same time, however, it's still God's Creation, isn't it? Besides being ravaged by the consequences of Sin, the world is also a pretty wonderful, marvelous place. I look around at the magnificent way God has created the flora and fauna and stand in awe. The oceans, lakes, rivers and streams reflect both His power and His continuing development of the world. The mountain ranges show, not only God's power, but His majesty as well. And, looking at the heavens, I am struck by His eternal, ever-present nature.

How often do you take the time to praise God for His marvelous work of Creation? It's something I must admit to falling short of on a regular basis. I learned a lesson about this from a fellow pastor and friend not long ago. While we were traveling to assess the needs of churches who had been struck by Hurricane Katrina, he led the group in morning devotions. At the end of every devotion, as is his personal practice, we sang the Common Doxology, also known as "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow." I was struck by the power of that hymn of praise as it led us to focus on the blessings of God in the midst of the terrible aftermath of destruction, both materially and in human suffering, left by the hurricane.

How about the blessings God bestows upon the world through human beings? Here we are, the crown of God's Creation, originally created in His image and likeness to be in a perfect relationship with Him, blessed with a multitude of talents, gifts, and abilities that are intended to be used for the benefit of others. Blessed by God with tremendous mental abilities, human beings seek to understand and harness the principles of physics, chemistry, mathematics, physiology and biology - just to name a few - so that the world might be a better place to live. Transportation, by means of automobiles, trucks, planes, rockets, and a host of other conveyances, harnesses the principles of physics, chemistry, and mathematics so that human beings can safely move from place to place quickly and easily. Humanity's need to grow ever more plentiful supplies of food, overcome diseases and illnesses, discover alternative sources of power, and supply answers to a host of other daily needs and concerns is addressed through various sciences, such as chemistry, biology, and physiology. By God's grace and mercy, according to His loving and gracious Will, we human beings are a marvelous part of His Creation.

As we noted earlier, however, the world is also a place of great evil. From the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God in Eden (Gen. 3), Sin and Satan have had an extraordinarily, diabolical hold on God's Creation, especially we human beings. St. Paul points this situation out quite vigorously and plainly in our reading in Romans today. Evil affects all people, everywhere, and has since the Fall into Sin. Because of the power of Sin it's incredibly easy for each of us to lose sight of God's Will and purpose for our lives - living in a forgiven and restored relationship with Him in Christ Jesus and sharing the light of Christ's love with the world, both of which lead us to heaven. Instead of putting God's Will first in our lives, we're so often tempted to put the desires of the created order over the Will of the Creator. Seems pretty foolish, doesn't it? Yet that's exactly the danger John warns against - the trap of allowing our ambitions, desires, lusts, and cravings to take first place in our lives.

God's promise to us in Jesus Christ is that doing His Will leads to eternal life (I Jn. 2:17). On our own, and by our own accord, doing God's Will is impossible. Yet, by God's wonderful grace and blessings to us through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior from Sin, Death, and Satan, we are empowered to live with Him, in Him, and through Him restored and forgiven by the power of His Word and Spirit. It's so very easy to put our focus on the here and now instead of on eternity, planning our lives around fulfilling our felt needs and personal ambitions. Nevertheless, God calls us to know and live in His love, so that the successes of our lives might be reflected in the care, concern, and love for others His love brings out in us. While it's not easy to live according to God's plan and Will for our lives and for the world, if you want to get "noticed" such living will certainly accomplish that because it will truly proclaim Christ's love to sinners in need of the Savior.

Prayer: Father, doing Your will is really hard at times. I'm tempted by my own sense of what my personal needs and desires are - emotional, physical, material, and spiritual - and forget that, unless they are grounded in You and Your love for me in Jesus Christ, they so often lead me to put "me" before "You" and "others." The "pleasure" and "prestige" offered by the world often seems to be a better alternative to waiting for eternity with You. The world's allure is truly tempting. Father, I can't overcome the world's temptations, nor the power of Sin in my life on my own. I need Your love for me in Jesus each and every day so that I might live in Your love and forgiveness, always prepared to share the same with others. By the power of Your Word and Spirit, gracious and loving Father, I pray that You would give me the strength of faith and wisdom I need to overcome the world and live in and for You. In Jesus' precious name I pray. Amen.
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--Pastor Boeck

Copyright @2005 Rev. Richard J. Boeck, Jr. All rights reserved.