Tethered to Christ
If you are a parent, you have undoubtedly heard it yelled, “Mom/Dad, they don’t want to share,” as one of your children indignantly reported on the other. Now, technically, they were probably correct in their assessment. We don’t want to share. Even as a kid, I knew that sharing meant I would get less of what I wanted, which didn’t sound like such a good deal. I particularly didn’t want to share my candy. We don’t need lessons in selfishness, we are experts. Our priority is ourselves, what we want, and what we enjoy.
I read a story recently about a man so wealthy that he had a basketball court on the deck of his yacht. But that wasn’t all. He had a staff that would follow his yacht out to sea in smaller boats, and whenever he missed a shot, they would retrieve the ball from the ocean, and he would try again. That is some candy!
This level of wealth is unknown to most of us. We can shake our heads, and think I would never do that, even if I could afford it.
But maybe a more honest reaction is that he simply has better candy than I did.
Worldly thinking leads us to believe more is always better. We reason it’s my money, I earned it, you only live once, and a host of other craven ideas, that may sound fair, but are not biblical. When we sow to the flesh, our thinking becomes more and more about us. We are told, “if it feels good do it.” The Bible would disagree, as it says, “if it IS good, do it.”
This week’s passage tells us in Galatians 6:8, “the one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
We are simply stewards, not owners of anything. God’s perfect economy makes sense to a Spirit filled believer, and absolutely no sense to those walking by the flesh. In Psalm 37:3 it is made simple for us; “trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.”
The Bible never says do good, but only if the recipient deserves it. In verse 6:10 this week, we are told, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.” Will some people take advantage of us? Sure. But we are actually serving an audience of only one; that is Jesus.
Either Jesus has all of me, or I am trying to still maintain control of some part of my life. I’m either tied to Jesus, or I am just drifting along the sea. I am, if you will, aimlessly shooting baskets right into the ocean.
It is hard for us to pick up our crosses daily and follow Jesus. There is no encounter with the Gospel of salvation that will leave us unchanged, or completely comfortable. It is not supposed to. Matthew 13:47-50 says it like this, “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The Bible uses water, fishing, and boats frequently in describing our lives, our choices, and our relationship to Christ. We get to choose daily our priorities, and to whom or what we will attach ourselves.
We can choose to sail aimlessly, and we may, for a season, even enjoy it.
But blessed is the one whose boat is firmly tethered to Christ.
~ Originally from New York, Gerry Lutzel has been a NC resident since 2017 and currently teaches in the women’s Bible study. She also serves at Guest Services on Sunday mornings.