PRINCIPLES OR OBEDIENCE?

JUST  DO  WHAT  YOU'RE  TOLD  ~
OR  THINK  FOR  YOURSELF?

I've been going to "church" for as long as I can remember.  I still have the Bible they gave me for graduating from kindergarten and entering the first grade Sunday School.  

It has no cover anymore, which is sad, because that cover had my name embossed in gold. 

It has no cover anymore, which is joyful, for that is a testimony to how well read that book was by me!

Unlike many people, I don't have a history of three to five generations all faithfully attending the same church for their whole lives.  I don't even have a history of myself faithfully attending the same church for longer than about 5 years at a time.

There were moves to different towns and moves to different states.  Most significantly, there were moves of the Spirit.  As I read, as I dug in and pressed in and sought to know my Lord more intimately, the more deeply and dramatically I changed.  

With those changes, my spiritual needs also changed.  As I grew, I found myself less and less enthusiastic about mindlessly obeying the rules of and church leadership of whatever institution I was attending and more and more enthused about learning to obey God directly and personally.

I discovered that following the Lord wasn't like being one of a herd of sheep, but the true joy and exhilaration came from understanding His personal direction for my life.  Recognizing the gifts He gave me, and how to use them to bear fruit for His Glory.  Embracing who He made me to be and living every day being led by His Holy Spirit.

I've read and reread Ephesians a multitude of times, and with each reading, fresh insight and understanding has resulted.  Working out my own salvation with fear and trembling has become a joyful journey, not a dreaded one.  

Gathering with likeminded believers is a fun filled activity of sharing insights, experiences and encouraging one another to stay faithful, remain steadfast and continue to trust and obey the Lord in spite of daily hardships.

Each of us will one day stand before the Lord, naked and alone, just ourselves and Jesus.  (Romans 14:12)  There won't be any one else to speak for us. There won't be anyone else to cover us.  Just Jesus the Lord of Lords, and we alone to answer to the Father for what we did with all He gave us. (read the parable of the talents for insight: Luke 19)

It is a wonderful thing to hear the gospel preached.  It is a great thing for others to share the insight and knowledge they have gained.  There is a season when being a disciple of another is exactly the right path.

But there comes a time for each of us who claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior to TAKE responsibility for ourselves and begin to DO.  To teach others, to encourage others, to become a productive member of the body of Christ ourselves.  Not just in taking care of a church building, but in caring for and increasing His Church.

So we will hear those glorious words we long for:

Well done, my good and faithful servant! WELL DONE!