I
know you have those days. The ones where you feel like you feel like you just
can’t get caught up. Many of my days are like that and I’m guessing yours are
as well. In some ways our Christian life is similar. There are some things we complete. We are only baptized once
(if we do it right, Acts 19:1-6). We only get married once (unless there is
death or unfaithfulness, Rom. 7:1-4; Matt. 19:9), but most Christian duties
continue. Just like cooking, dishes, laundry we never reach a point with them
where we can say, “There I’ve finished with that. Now I’ll move on to something
else.” These are things that must be done on a repeatedly.
So what are some of these things?
Studying. The Bereans searched
the scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). The Psalmist said, “But his delight is in
the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psa. 1:2).
God promised to bless “the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting
at the posts of my doors” (Pro. 8:34). Paul, aged and imprisoned, besought
Timothy to bring his book and parchments (2Tim. 4:13); if he still had studying
to do, don’t we?
Shining. We don’t get to take any days off from setting a good example others. Christianity does not come with exemptions or vacation days. Jesus told us that we are the light and salt of the world (Mat. 5:13-14). This is true when we feel well and when we don’t. It holds true when things go well for us or when everything seems to go wrong. It is still true when we are around our friends and complete strangers. This is true for the preacher and shepherds, but also for the flock. I am in no way an advocate of Bob Marley and the life he lived, but I do however, find a lot of truth in one of his statements. Two days before performing at a peace rally, Marley was shot. He went on to perform and when asked why he didn’t postpone or cancel the concert he replied, “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?” He was right. It is our job to carry on (Gal. 6:9) and light up the darkness.
Serving. Jesus told us, “he that is greatest among you,
let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve” (Luk.
22:26). Paul penned the words in Galatians 5:13, “by love serve one another.” We
never reach the point where we are to be served rather than to serve. We must
be observant to the constant small acts of service that we can provide to those
around us. It might be as small as getting a cup of coffee for a spouse or
co-worker. It might be helping an elderly person into their wheelchair when
they arrive for church services. It could be sitting with a friend who just
went through a breakup. It could be buying the meal for the person in the drive
thru line behind you or having a pizza delivered to the family waiting for their
next paycheck. The possibilities are endless. There is always a way to serve,
we simply must keep our eyes open for it. As Winnie-the-Pooh has said, “You
can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You
have to go to them sometimes.”
Supplicating. Supplication
defined is making a humble entry especially to God (so I could have listed this
one as prayer, but I thought the “S” theme might make it easier to remember).
Prayer is a duty that is never finished based on 1Thes. 5:17. Luke told us in
chapter 18 verse 1, “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” David
prayed morning, noon and evening (Psa. 55:17). Daniel kneeled three times a day
(Dan. 6:10) and Jesus prayed all night (Luk. 6:12). If these great men needed
this much prayer, I feel secure in saying we do as well.
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