Monday, September 9, 2013

Missing the Forest for the Trees

Blog »  Missing the Forest for the Trees

Monday, September 9, 2013   Jeff Lampl
 
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come”    Matthew 24:14  
In the introduction to his book, Unfinished, Richard Stearns points out our tendency to become so absorbed in things right in front of us that we lose sight of the bigger picture.  Does this happen to you?  Do you become so absorbed by the “trees” of your everyday life that you have lost sight of the bigger story within which our lives take place?  “We grow up, go to school, begin careers, get married, have kids, and struggle daily with life’s challenges.  These are the “trees of our lives” that occupy most of our waking hours.  Even praying, bible reading, going to church, and attending a small group can just be more trees in a life cluttered with more trees”  
But the Big Story, the one that the Bible tells from the first page to the last,  the Story into which you were born and within which you’ve been given a part to play, is that God is healing a broken and sinful world.   He is ushering in new kind of society, a new kind of kingdom which operates on the basis of love, truth, forgiveness and compassion.  He has launched a revolution which will overthrow the prevailing  world system.  He is making all things new.   This is the Gospel which believers  are to told to bring to the world. And He’s given each of us a script to follow, a role to play and purpose to live.     
But to know your role, you must know the story.   But to embrace and live out your role you must believe the story.
 
Do  you ever have the feeling that there is something missing in your life? Do you ever have a sense that your life should be about something more than it is?    Has God given you a Holy Discontent that cannot be satisfied until the story of your life aligns with God’s Big Story?
           
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1 comment:

  1. Yes! Yes! This happens to me a lot. And what do I do? I think that if I fill this hole with more things, bigger and better stuff, I will feel better. If I go on better more expensive vacations this hole will fill up and I will feel complete. Nothing helps. Lately I find that when I serve God in some way, I feel a little bit better. I want more of this feeling. Prayer... God please help me to choose you over the things of this world. Amen.

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