The timing of our actions is an important factor that affects our successful, Christian development. If we wait too long to commit ourselves to do what is right in the eyes of God, we may miss out on opportunities to learn, grow in righteousness, and put our talents to practice. But on the other hand, if we lose our patience and take action too soon, we may not be demonstrating our faith in God, and place too much trust in our human judgment. Finding the right balance between hesitation and haste is important for us to practice so we can spiritually develop our character to its fullest potential.
Eric Rank
Loss
The prospect of suffering loss is something that strikes fear into the hearts of many, if not all of us. The potential loss of a home, job, money, possessions, loved ones, opportunity, reputation, and a volume of other seemingly important things may motivate us to protect ourselves so we can keep those things. We engage in activities like buying insurance, averting risks, and making contingency plans. These are all fine actions to take. But, as we make attempts to keep hold of things that are important to us, there is very little that we can truly control with our own power. While we do whatever we can, we must remember that God is the One who is ultimately in control of the circumstances of our life. Yet, there is one very important matter that we do have control over, and which we cannot survive without.
When we consider the things that we might worry about losing, it is most important that we work to protect our salvation. Our salvation is worth protecting above all. Everything else – everything – is trivial by comparison. This gift of salvation is unique in the manner that it is completely under our control, and, as a result, is something that we alone are responsible for keeping or losing.
Knowing that the gift of salvation is our most valuable possession and that all else is far less important by comparison, it is imperative that we balance our attention and invest our resources accordingly. Do we spend time keeping our relationship with God healthy? Do we spend an unnecessary amount of time, energy, and other resources trying to keep control over those things that we should trust in God to protect? By putting our faith in God to support our needs, and basing our actions on our faith, we free ourselves from the worry of this world and can focus on more important matters. We control our own destiny by the way we manage our conversion.
Paul wrote that his strengths and prior accomplishments, as measured by worldly metrics, were a liability to him relative to his spiritual conversion and growth. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8). This perspective should be one that we all share. The possessions and advantages that we might have in this world are useless in the ultimate endeavor we seek—to be part of God’s Family.
This means that we cannot become too attached to the things of this world that we might fear losing, if such attachment causes us to compromise our relationship with God. It hurts to suffer loss in our lives, but most loss that we experience only has a temporary effect. We have to remember that the loss of our opportunity to live an eternal life is the greatest loss and the only thing for which there is no recovery. As Jesus reminds us in Luke 17:33, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”
Rejoice in Generocity
The attitude that we have when offering a gift to God is vitally important. Not only are we commanded to appear before God with an offering on God’s commanded Holy Days, we are also instructed to rejoice in our generosity.
Let God Fight the Battles
When we encounter situations of conflict, it might be tempting to take matters into our own hands and leave God out of the picture. The Bible teaches that it is important for us to bring God into our lives to help in times of conflict, but also to faithfully turn matters into His hands to take care of the situation for us. We can be relieved to know that God is willing to fight our battles, but only if we let Him.
Purpose
Science will try to explain the miracle of human life and all existence as a series of random events necessarily determined by all other random events preceding them. Such an explanation is not only nonsense, but it leaves life purposeless. To the contrary, the Bible clearly shows that God works with mankind on different scales to fulfill His great purpose and plan. If you have ever wondered about your true purpose in life, tune in to learn more!
First Love
When we talk about becoming converted Christians, we often express the experience as discovering our first love. The Bible is clear about the importance of hanging onto our first love, but how do we do that? What is the substance of our first love? If we have lost our first love, how can we return to it? When we have our first love, what do we need to do to nurture it? Our future in God’s Family depends on the answers!
Firstfruits
Those who are called out of the world to become converted Christians in this age are referred to as Firstfruits. What does this mean for us now and in the future?
Glory
Glory describes the state in which God exists. But glorification also describes an action of offering honor and praise. How are these two concepts related? How is this relevant to the future of converted Christians?
Support
The action of offering support to others and accepting support when it is offered is a very important aspect of living a Christian life. We support one another as brethren. We support the Church in it’s fulfillment of the great commission. We need support from the Church to understand the Truth. This act of offering support is part of our role in the Kingdom of God as well, when we will eternally support the will of God!
The Process or the Product?
If the world as we know it is passing away, of what value are our human achievements now? Sometimes it might seem that the work that we do is meaningless in the greater context of God’s plan. With this in mind, how can we find fulfillment in the activities and achievements of our lives?