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Saturday, June 04, 2005
Ferris Bueller said it: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't slow down once in a while, you could miss it."
It was early in the movie. He was planning on using the last day he could skip school in a great way, and actor Matthew Broderick talked to the audience to explain why he needed his friend Cameron to drive them around that day. Cameron got a car for his 16th birthday. Ferris got a computer.
Ferris could only miss one more day of school and still pass his classes. It would have to count.
He was absorbed in planning his day, too.
He went to see a Chicago Cubs baseball game.
He went to a posh restaurant in downtown Chicago.
He went to the top of the John Hancock tower.
He went to the art museum.
He drove a flashy sports car with his girlfriend and Cameron.
He was in the last parade float of the St. Patrick's Day parade in downtown Chicago singing Twist 'N Shout.
He made his day count.
And that's the message of the last part of 1 Timothy 4: 13--16, too.
"Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and to teaching. Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery. Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you."
Granted, Paul was talking specifically to Timothy, his protege, but there are some things we can identify with and apply to our lives as well.
We need to be in places where Scripture is read in public. That's a lost art in our soceity. When I was a kid, we'd do these "responsive readings" where the leader of the worship service would read one line of a Psalm and the crowd would read the next. No sermon. Just the living and active Word of God being living and active.
We need to be encouraging to one another in our walks. The Christian life is difficult enough without kicking other believers. We should be sharpening each other more in a loving, encouraging way...not condescending or judgmental of the gray areas.
We need to be putting ourselves in situations to learn. Most people in our culture aren't readers or learners, and there's never been a time in Christian culture that we can get as much information as we do about the walk with God. It could be at church, on the internet, CD's, books, etc. But we need good, sound teaching.
We need to be using our spiritual gift to help the Body mature. We all have one, and while we're trying to figure it all out, we need to be serving others as they grow spiritually. If it were only so easy these days to have people confirm our gift by laying on of hands!
We need to be absorbed in these things. People will notice if we're taking great pains to follow Christ, and we'll be making progress. Sometimes we neglect that.
We need to be paying close attention to ourselves. How much sleep are we getting? How's our diet? Our exercise? Our life-long learning? Our hobbies? Our time with family? These are all things that can affect the spiritual life if we're not careful...life can go at warp speed and the next thing we know our faith is shipwrecked. Most of the time, it can be traced back to these things.
If we're doing these things, we'll experience the joys of our salvation (remember, Paul used salvation in the sense that the past/present/future aspects were all wrapped up in that term...he's not saying that your salvation depends on you doing these things)...and those we serve will, too.
So, for today...what are you absorbed with? Take great pains with? How you answer that will define where you are spiritually these days...
Brent 4:18 AM
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