Let Me Get Home Before Dark

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Joy and fulfillment come from being who God made you to be. It does not come from things you own, titles you achieve, political causes you support, children you raise, friends you have, or any worldly desire.

Paul tells Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom. I give you this charge” Think of this charge to Timothy and know it also applies to each one of us. The good works prepared for us in advance are a direct command from God before we came into existence. That is a critical thought. We are to chase His purpose in our lives, not get His buy-in to what we think it should be, based on our experiences, learning, desires, or self-actualization.

LOVE

I cannot emphasize enough that all that we do should be covered in love. The fundamental building block to being the person God made us to be is that we do it in love. We can have passion, but in that passion, it should not lead to sin. We should not put ourselves above others, even when we know we are right with God in doing so.

1 Corinthians 13:13, “The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.”

If what you pursue is not cloaked in love, then put a big question mark after it. You might be going in the right direction with the wrong motive or the wrong direction; something is not correct. There needs to be peace about your daily walk. You should be more content with what you do than what you achieve by doing it. Being the person God made you to be is about obedience, not results. Western culture has driven us to believe that you can only gauge success by results; this is not true in God’s economy. God has His measure. Trust me, and I say this from experience, God will motivate you to stay on the right track. God will continue to reinforce your efforts if you are striving to be His person, not yours.

GRACE

Today, more than ever, we spend much too much time judging people by their worldly beliefs. Are they Liberals, Socialist, Conservatives, or Christian nationalists; are they pro or anti-maskers, or are they pro or anti-vaccine?  We all have quirks that distinguish us from those around us; some beliefs can separate us from others or minimize our Christian impact on the world. Grace is not just making allowance for others; it is also not letting our worldly beliefs stand in the way of our mission for God.

2 Timothy 2:23, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.”

The world is watching us. We cannot be held responsible for others’ conclusions, but we are held accountable for our actions. If our efforts cast a shadow of God’s love for all of humanity, we need to back off. People of disparate backgrounds and worldly beliefs should all be attracted to the Gospel. We are to model to the world what the world needs to become. Please read all of Romans 14, where Paul cautions us about letting superficial worldly issues stand in the way of our mission and purpose.

Romans 14: 12-13, “So we will all have to explain to God the things we have done. Let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put anything in your brother’s way that would make him trip and fall.”

It is not enough to correct people with your mouth, but to compel them with your holiness.

HOPE

To be the person God made us to be, we need to change our focus. We need to stop believing that worldly events are the source of our hope. If you start thinking that your peace will come from the world aligning with your expectations, you will spend your life disappointed. I don’t care how noble or righteous your expectations are; the world will always disappoint. Your life will still be shrouded in fear, anxiety, and anger.

Our focus, yours and mine, need to be on advancing the Gospel while we have breath in our lungs to do it. Advancing the Gospel does not mean you need to take up a placard and stand on a street corner proclaiming the Gospel. It means being the person God made you be. For most of us, it means being the person who is not moved by current events. The Gospel has not changed. God has not changed His intent for humanity. Things will go well for the Christian community, and it will go poorly for the Christian community, but the end game has never changed.

The reason we can show love and grace is that the temporal environment has changed nothing. As an American, the capital riots shook my world. I had lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis when a nuclear war was minutes away. I lived through the assassination of President Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Presidential candidate Bobby Kennedy. I lived through the Mississippi Burning murders, which lit the race riots of the ’60s; nothing questioned my resolve for this country more than the storming of our Capitol Building over the basic tenants of democracy. But, my hope was not in the political system or law enforcement, but my knowledge that God is and always has been in control.

In being the person God made me to be, my hope can only be in Him. I cannot divide my hope between God and man.

Matthew 12:25, “And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

For too long, we have hitched our wagon to the principle, insights, and philosophies of man. To be the person God made us to be, we need to get back to God. Crawford Loritts uses the the poem below in the introduction to his book, “Make it Home Before the Dark.” Our time is limited here on earth; we need to use it wisely.  The link below will take you to the poem that inspired Crawford’s book, it is well worth your time to read it.

Dr. Robertson McQuilkin – Let Me Get Home Before Dark

2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as an approved worker who has nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of truth with precision.”