Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Living above mediocrity

I'm working through a bible study called "Living above the level of mediocrity, and the last page of my section today was just awesome. It was too much to type on facebook so i figured I'd share it on here :) Dave and I were just talking the other day about how when our lives are going too smoothly we wonder what we are doing wrong. We know that when we are facing trials that its a sign we are growing and strengthening our relationship with God. When we arent being challenged we are always concerned, and wondering why. Funny how our mindsets change as we continue to grow in Christ. This section of my book talked about that very thing...

Charles Swindol's Living Above the Level of Mediocrity

"We all long for the day when Christ's kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy is realized fully on this earth. What often surprises us however, is the fact that kingdom living in the meantime includes many tribulations. This takes us off guard, and we easily lose our bearings as we wonder what went wrong. But F.B. Meyer shows us that sometimes when things seem amiss, they are actually going right.

                          "If in an unknown country, I am informed that I must pass through a valley where the sun   is hidden, or over a stony bit of road, to reach my abiding place- when I come to it, each moment of shadow or jolt of the carriage tells me that I am on the right road."

"The right road!" Have you ever thought of those bumps and bruises and shadows and jolts of your life as a confirming sign that you're on the right road?
  
There really is no easy street when we're following Christ, and the toll along the way is often suffering. (Phil. 1:29; 3:10; 1 Peter 2:21; 4:19) But we can take comfort in where that road of suffering leads---to our being conformed to the image of the ever living Christ.(Romans 8:29) As George McDonald reminds us:

                             "The son of God suffered unto the death, not that men might not suffer, but that their sufferings might be like His."

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