A Whole New Lifestyle

True service is a life-style. It acts from ingrained patterns of living. It springs spontaneously to meet human need.

In reading this section on self-righteous service vs true service, I thought, "smug Foster, he probably doesn't really know about true service, just writing about it in the theoretical. How unfair and irresponsible. What a hard and burdensome load he won't lift a finger for" (Matt 23:4). Then I realized that my tinge of disgust might actually be conviction. After which I took notice.

This morning sitting down in an over stimulated state (I'm concurrently thinking through how to not feel so pressed for time in the morning and the unwanted side effect of disquiet caused by listening to audio books in the morning) I wondered about if my morning meditations are having any impact. I'm not really giving them a good chance to. Morning meditation is part of the untenable pursuit of arriving to work by 5 if I wake up by 4. It just makes no sense to me why I can't order my life to make this happen? Why don't the minutes work?

Returning to service. I like the idea of considering it to be a lifestyle. How much of my life is set up to be just for me? All of my pursuits right now seem to be to make me more productive, more accomplished, more powerful. Why do I fill my head with all of these things to do? And then I find resistance from others who don't really want to do my things. Don't people realize I'm just seeking to serve them, their cause? But, am I serving people? Or do I want them to serve me?

Lord, much of my pursuit is wrong, and I know it. Help me to walk the cross to Gethsemane and place my will there with the Lord's. Help me to take very real the pursuit of God, the Life indwelling, and the faith of Jesus. Re-attune my eyes to need and not want, to service and not pleasure. Bring my haughty looks low that from there I might learn to see the heights.

Trials Turn to Gold - Keith Green

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