A Different Definition
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Why does it have to stop? Why does that sense of purpose and fulfillment have to leave when we go through those doors? What is it about that place? Is it any different than my home, my car, the school I go to, or even Wal-Mart? I feel like I have two different mind sets. One that is totally focused on the main purpose of life, and another that is focused on me, and what I want. I have one that is excited for what the day brings, and another that is fearful of what might happen. I have one that loves, and one that hates. I have one that is patient and one that can’t stand to wait. No matter what I do it feels like they are always at war with each other. Neither one wins, it’s just a constant battle. Will I ever be one person?
If it wasn’t clear already the doors I’m speaking of are the doors of the church. Also, the two different mind sets are my own selfish mind set, and the mind of God the Holy Spirit gives me. When in church it’s easy. Everyone has the same thing in mind, worship God. Usually nothing else distracts you and you can focus totally on what God is speaking to you. This seems awesome! God reveals things in your life that you need to change, and in your mind there is nothing that will stop you from changing them. While in church you feel invincible, powerful, and purposeful. You think of ways to reach the lost. You think of ideas to help the community and give back to the poor. You intend on giving more and receiving less. You realize one really doesn’t need all these possessions. God shows you that most things of this life really don’t matter, and that the only thing that will truly last in eternity is LOVE. All this seems so easy to comprehend when inside those doors. When you leave you feel motivated and confident of what the LORD will use you for. But then reality of the world strikes, and once outside those doors something changes.
Once you take one step outside those doors you are hit with what the world has to offer. For example, one usually goes out to eat on a Sunday; it’s just what people do. The topic of the table is hardly ever about what was just spoken in church, but most often what the new weeks is going to bring. We are always looking ahead. After eating lunch we usually go back home, lay around the house, watch television. I can’t think of one time that I ever reflected on what God had spoken to me about in church. I just told myself I will do it later, or I had thought about that enough at church. But wasn’t it just at church that I told myself I would have a purpose? Dinner comes around and you eat and maybe talk about what shows are on tonight, or how much gas is going to be tomorrow. Another chance to reflect that none of us take advantage of. Before you know it you have fallen asleep, and you wake up the next morning and head off to school or work. By this time you have forgotten almost everything that you said you would remember while at church. The world has won again.
This is all too common for every one of us. In no way am I saying that any of those things done on Sunday are bad or sinful. It is perfectly okay to relax and enjoy the things of this world. Where we go wrong is with our mind set, and why we do those things. Like I said, this mind set almost immediately changes when we leave through those doors of the church. When we leave we start thinking of ourselves, most of the time we think, “I’m hungry.” So at this time food is all we can think about. Don’t get me wrong, food is fantastic. I love food! But why are we eating? Are we eating to keep ourselves alive or because we want to be sustained so we can live longer for the glory of God? Kind of drastic comparison, but it makes you think. Why do we do things? Do we relax because we are tired, or so we can be well rested to work hard in the week to come? When talking about each other’s week what are we doing that for? I would like to say it’s so I can remember people’s schedules and learn more about their lives. But quite honestly, I’ll forget what someone told me not minutes after they said it. So if that’s not my purpose, then what is my purpose? Where did that motivation I had not an hour earlier go to? Is it still there? I believe it is.
Why does it have to stop? This motivation and purpose we had in church doesn’t have to stop at the door, it can go with us. If we let it, it can go anywhere we go, because this motivation and purpose we speak of is in fact God Himself. The Holy Spirit is what you felt in church, and what gave you all those ideas for the lost and the poor. The Holy Spirit is the one that humbled you, and made you think less of yourself and more about what you can do for others. The Holy Spirit did all this. And do you want to know another secret?........ The Holy Spirit is NOT confined to the walls of the church. As a matter of fact this universe can’t confine the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is the presence of God and God is everywhere and in everything. He is omnipresent and omnipotent. He was here before, He is here now, and He will be here forever to come.
“And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him for He dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:16
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
Freedom is not something talked about extensively. Most often freedom is an aspect of our lives that is overlooked. Whether due to worries about how to pay rent, the overwhelming grind of going to work every day, or just being way too busy, we forget that we have been granted the freedom to live life. Things like these are so easily forgotten with the way we define life. In turn, the way we live life defines our relationship with God. Our relationship with God should not be defined by how we feel. Nor should it be based on anything at all. God stands alone. He can’t be defined. So instead of trying to define God, I challenge us to live by the definition of life God so freely gave to us. Love.
About the Author
There are no two more influential people in my life than the young men in this picture: Hender, on the left, and Heido, to the right. Heido came to me in a time of need and lead the way to the village where Hender lived. Hender was one of less than ten believers in his village. Every morning when I went to read, he read with me. On leaving, I left him my Bible and told him to read it to his friends and family. On our return a year later, we came to find a group of over twenty believers—including his mom and sister. Another year passed and word came back that the church grew even larger and that Hender’s dad and brother came to believe as well. They told me further that Hender was still reading and learning. Not even old enough to be in high school, these two taught me more about bravery, love, and obedience than I ever thought possible.