Have you ever had a day that just drained you? How about a week that tested the limits of your patience? Since I'm pretty sure you'll say yes, I'll just keep going. How do we get through them? How do we recharge to get ready for the next one? I wish I had the magic answer to these questions.
Here's what I'm learning. Most of the time, for me, when that happens I'm not adhering to at least one of the 10 commandments. I might not have taken a Sabbath to recharge my spirit, but I choose to keep working until it all gets done - knowing full well my work will never be done. I might covet something my neighbor has whether that be a grade, a relationship or a little free time to relax and enjoy. I may have worshiped an idol - money being the most likely to try and pull me away from God.
Now I know I adhere to a good number of them. I don't use the Lord's name in vain. I honor my parent. I have never stolen or committed murder or adultery. However this is not enough. The 10 commandments aren't a game of odds. (Methodists are strictly against gambling, and I would count that as a gamble.) Missing any one of them can lead to an empty life because it is allowing free will to pull us away from God.
So I use this as a part of my daily discerning. Have I kept faithfully with the will of God in my daily life? My goal in doing this in not to work my way into heaven, that is already granted by God's grace, but to live a life more fully in communion with God, and that is the revitalization for which I seek.
No comments:
Post a Comment