Journey, an update 6-29-07 PLUS...

“Therefore dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

I read this verse this morning and starting thinking about life in general. There are a lot of things in life that are good. It is a nice thing, an edifying thing, to seek after peace, quiet, beauty, a good story, an uplifting experience, etc. But I can’t allow my desire for those things to draw my focus away from what God has called me to do. Sometimes what God calls us to isn’t pleasant or fun. But I was challenged once again to stand firm, even in the unpleasant things, and to give myself and my life fully to the Lord’s direction because I know that He has a purpose in all things and that when I serve Him that what I do is never in vain even if I don’t immediately see the results of my sacrifice.

PLUS... I read a blog post today by Karen Hancock and it spoke to me along the same lines as the verses above. You can read the whole post at:

http://karenhancock.blogspot.com/2007/06/casting-your-bread-on-waters.html.

An excerpt of her post follows:

I'm to have the same mind as my Lord. I do the work as unto Him, not for the praise of people, because if it really is significant work, they'll probably be unable to give it anyway. I do it, not expecting (craving?) response or approval, but knowing it's something I give to them freely because I choose to and want to. You give freely, lavishly and you don't expect anything back. Not praise, not good reviews, not even remuneration. Because that's how God works: He reaches out to the world and keeps reaching out whether the world responds or not. In fact, mostly the world doesn't respond.

In the parable of the sower, the seed was sown, in most cases, without positive results. But the Lord doesn't say, 'Only sow your seed among those that you think will respond and don't waste time on those you think won't.' Seventy-five percent of his hearers did not respond to the parable of the sower. That's not the issue. The issue is to be obedient. So what if they laugh at you or mock or reject you? Leave the results to God and keep on sowing.

Learn to look at the things you've done in terms of the influence you've had on people's lives. You're giving yourself, your talent, your gift. Don't do it for money or acclaim. Don't wait for letters of thank you. You shouldn't expect to benefit for every good thing you do in people's lives. We must give to give, not to get.