Spiritual Priority

“God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne. “Psalms 47:8

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, . . . Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:. . . And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:7-12

A familiar scene: It is Friday night, the office/job has deadlines fast approaching, a school recital is tonight, a review of the week reminds you that prayer has somehow slipped through the cracks, Saturday is your ‘date night,’ there is a broken doorknob at home, and the soup kitchen has called saying there is a shortage of workers this weekend . . .

Each aspect of this situation has its own partakers and hint of immediacy demanding your attention.  Choosing one activity, excludes each of the others (by design), delaying the completion and needed results. Is there any wonder that priorities are a constant struggle for us all?  Truly there are times that any of these situations are a crisis, trumping any other and making it impossible to postpone; yet many times it is only our perception of the situation and we miss out on other activities altogether unnecessarily.

God has his ways of realigning our priorities throughout life.  Disaster, calamity, life events, deaths, sickness, and others; have a way of reviving clarity in our mind.  Our reminder this week, confirms for us again that today is a gift and all that is promised (James 4:14-15).  All of the deeds done in our time on Earth have an immediate outcome, and then will also be judged at the Great Throne. Though it seems there are actions which are too insignificant to matter, the Bible teaches us that every idle word will be judged. We should live with intention, seeking the eternal value of our actions.

We learn from God, almost surprisingly, that God is still always at work.  He is still completing the work began in us.  We will certainly always have work to do, just as God is always at work.  God is infinite and all-sufficient, while we are not; our task is to complete all of our work here to the best of our ability and to his glory. 

As you complete your Christmas activities, please be sure to point people to the Light of the season, and be intentional who you spend your time with