This week I have been praying for the Austin family, long-time friends from Long Lake, colleagues in ministry, and former missionary family supported by NWC.  Their son Caleb, a decorated Marine who survived two tours, was tragically killed in a car accident last week while back in the states. (For the news article click here).  Caleb’s father Kevin and grandfather Harold (Bunny) are both ordained ministers in our district.  These things are so hard to explain away, challenging our faith.  Throughout the week my parents and brother have kept me informed about funeral plans in Long Lake as they are actively involved in the church which will host the viewing and funeral.  Our prayers are with the family even if we are finding it difficult to have anything helpful to say.

During the week my wife dragged me to a movie called “Soul Surfer” in which a young Christian girl named Bethany Hamilton with a dream of becoming a professional surfer, loses her arm in a shark attack. In the movie, previous to the attack, a youth pastor had shared a lesson where she showed close up photos of the eye of a fly and a walnut shell.  Up close they were unrecognizable of course and often misidentified.  When looked at from a distance they were much easier to properly identify.  As I contemplated this concept the next day, I heard a preacher on the radio compare this life to another movie called the "Matrix", reminding me that this life is not reality, eternity after this life is.  For now we can only see life up close, where our experiences and emotions cloud our understanding.  Paul put it this way, we only see through a glass darkly in this life (I Cor. 13:12, personal interpretation).   As painful or joyful as this life is, it is only a dress rehearsal, it won’t last. What is real and what we should focus our priorities on is the reality of the afterlife.  Jesus told us to not lay up treasures on earth but in heaven (Matt. 6:20).  He also said to seek first the Kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33).  He was exhorting his followers to see above the cares of this world to one that has no pain or suffering.  Meanwhile while we live today God calls us to be faithful in endurance, rejoicing in hope, and live our lives with a kingdom view.  Bethany Hamilton is an example of someone who has learned to put God first and seek His glory.  God has given her a great opportunity to share her faith in God as she continues to live out her dream as a professional surfer today.  I highly recommend this inspiring film for families to view, whether you are facing pain and disappointment or not.    

I cannot answer every question of why things happen as they do, but I can tell each one I know that God’s plans and view of things are much clearer than ours.  What he has in store for those who love Him is much greater than we can imagine. In the meantime we should seek to glorify our Lord with our lives.

“…in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Romans 8:37)

When I go to my family doctor for my yearly check-up he tells me I need to eat right AND exercise. I have the eating right thing down pretty well--I do sneak the occasional cookie or piece of cake or pie, or a candy bar, or donut, muffin, or other breakfast pastry (nobody's perfect, right?).

It's the exercise part with which I have the most trouble. Apparently I take in more calories on a daily basis than I burn. As a result over the past several years I have gained a few more pounds than I should have. Health gurus would say I have an unbalanced physical life.

The same can be said for the spiritual life of most Christians--it is unbalanced. There are three aspects that make up the spiritual life: the first is worship, the second is ministry, and the third is discipleship. In the Rick Warren lingo it would go something like this: majesty, ministry, and maturity. I'm fine with that.

Whatever labels you apply, the principle is the same: the spiritual life needs to worship God--that is first and foremost, then the spiritual life needs to serve others in some capacity and to be served by others.

Most Christians live an unbalanced spiritual life. They are either serving in too many ministries--in physical life parlance they burn far more calories than they consume which if taken to an extreme could lead to anorexia; or they are sitting in too many Bible studies but never actually serving anywhere--in physical life they consume far more calories than they burn, which if taken to an extreme could lead to obesity.

In the church we often call people "Martha" who are busy doing ministry and never take time to be fed spiritually, or worse yet who never take time to worship God. Martha and her sister Mary were disciples of Jesus. Martha was the worker-bee type, and Mary just wanted to spend time with Jesus. Martha was so busy serving others and Jesus that she never took time to actually worship Him. And, she complained to Jesus that her sister Mary was spending too much time with Him. Luke chapter 10 records: "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' To which Jesus replied, "Martha, Martha . . . you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

The opposite of Martha are those who, in modern vernacular, we call couch potatoes--they are content to sit around watching television all day but never do anything. In the church, people who are involved in very little if any service could be called pew potatoes. They are content to watch the very few workers do most of the work. They are like the third employee in the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:15-30) who instead of investing his talent, buried it in the backyard. When the master came back the the employee had nothing to show for what was given to him. The master was angry at the do-nothing employee, took the one talent he had, and tossed the employee out. God has gifted every follower of Christ and expects us to be doing something for the kingdom of God. We cannot afford to squander what He has given by being pew potatoes.

So, which side do you fall on--Martha or pew potato? Or, are you one of the few who has a balanced spiritual life: worshiping God, serving others and being discipled? This week consider where you are and make adjustments as necessary. It may involve you stepping out of areas of service so you can make time to be fed or worship God; it may involve you getting out of the pew and stepping up to serve others