THE JOY INHERENT IN TOP PRIORITIES
“People never focus on one thing to enjoy it and do it well. They try to do two or three things at once and all the joy slides to the bottom of the laundry basket.” (Calvin and Hobbes 1996)
In Matthew 6:33,34 when Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these (mundane necessities) will be given to you as well.” He was referring to the urgency of placing our RELATIONSHIPS first and in a fruitful order of importance. Christians are to be persons of JOY. By this I do not mean a faux smiley face existence in which we try to play the role of a sunshine merchant. The joy spoken of in scripture is a deep abiding contentment as our soul resides in the confidence giving love of God in Christ. The apostle Paul urges us as he speaks to the Galatians to “live by the Spirit.” Taking on the character of our Savior as enabled by the indwelling Holy Spirit . He provides all we need in order to thrive in the richness of the spiritual fruit that is in us.
As we are emersed is our deep love to and from God, in Christ, each of us is empowered to be Christ like in all of our other relationships. We have the wisdom, patience, perseverance, love and enduring victory that only a child of God can possess. The short list of relationships where in one can thrive in joy are:
*A saving relationship with Christ Jesus,
*Relationships with family,
*Relationships with brothers and sister in Christ (Church)
*Relationships with friends, co-workers and others as we live out our God led lives of purpose.
In short, our top priority as Christians is to maintain our focus on God and his plan so that we can see the world around us clearly and never let the joy of our salvation “slip to the bottom of the laundry basket” of soiled garments of doings rather than thrive in the BEING we are in God.
Pastor Tom