I ran across an old “Peanuts” comic strip recently. It takes place after Christmas and Linus has invited Charlie Brown over to see what he got for Christmas. He says “See, just like I told you. Look at all this stuff…a bicycle, games, clothes, baseball equipment, more clothes, more toys, candy and a transistor radio. This is terrible! This is my worst Christmas yet! How will I ever develop any character? I ALWAYS GET EVERYTHING I WANT!” We talk a lot about character and that it is a really good thing. But rarely does anyone have the heart that Linus had in that comic strip. If you are like me…you like stuff. You like it when you get what you want. You and I love it when things all go our way. But they don’t. And when they don’t, even as a follower of Jesus, we sometimes look up to heaven and ask “God, why me?” Or “Why not me?” The kind of character that Linus and even the Bible calls for…is hard. It involves sacrifice, pain and deferred hope. And that’s why there is so little of it. But God leads those who seriously follow him to the path to character. And the classroom is called problems, trials and pain. God is not mean nor is he trying to hurt you and me. He
is using the crummy stuff of this world and its inhabitants to develop endurance in us. Because when we endure with Christ through time and trials, we develop character. Now you might be thinking that maybe character isn’t all that good a thing. The Bible says it is. Because character will strengthen our confident hope of salvation. And God promises in his Bible that will not lead us to disappointment. When things start to collapse around you, the temptation will be to give up. And in those times, God will be there to hold you and collect your tears. But then he is going to tell you and me to get up, get going and get growing in your faith. Easy? Not a chance. If it was, everyone would be doing it. But if you’ve wanted tough, lasting and rewarding faith…this is the path. God loves you, will never leave you but will always lead you to live and walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And it will not be easy, but it will be the best and most important thing you will do on your journey on planet earth. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 5:3-5 NLT We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. (4) And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. (5) And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
is using the crummy stuff of this world and its inhabitants to develop endurance in us. Because when we endure with Christ through time and trials, we develop character. Now you might be thinking that maybe character isn’t all that good a thing. The Bible says it is. Because character will strengthen our confident hope of salvation. And God promises in his Bible that will not lead us to disappointment. When things start to collapse around you, the temptation will be to give up. And in those times, God will be there to hold you and collect your tears. But then he is going to tell you and me to get up, get going and get growing in your faith. Easy? Not a chance. If it was, everyone would be doing it. But if you’ve wanted tough, lasting and rewarding faith…this is the path. God loves you, will never leave you but will always lead you to live and walk in the footsteps of Jesus. And it will not be easy, but it will be the best and most important thing you will do on your journey on planet earth. Here’s our Bible verse for today…
Romans 5:3-5 NLT We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. (4) And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. (5) And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ