Articles
Little Spark, Big Fire
If you have accessed the news in any form or fashion since Tuesday, you got somebody's opinion on the State of the Union address given by Joe Biden. It came as no surprise to me that the reaction was from one extreme end of the spectrum to the other. Some people feel things are going pretty well, others the exact opposite with extremes in both camps. We have the ability in our voting to change how things are being done in our government, but that takes time, years upon years sometimes, so while we do have input in how things are done, we can't single handedly have a short term significant impact in governmental affairs.
But what about the State of the Church? What about the congregation where you attend, can you have a big impact there as just one person? Well certainly more so than in our federal government, and probably much more so than we at times stop to realize.
In a close knit group like church, the saying "it only takes a spark to get a fire going" is very true. When you are on fire for Jesus, that energy is witnessed and desired by others, and it catches on and grows rapidly. Even if YOU are the only one to benefit from a renewed energy to serve Christ, that's great, but we all know it is contagious in a church, and a very good and encouraging thing.
All of us at times are the one who can be that energy, and at other times, we are the ones needing that energy. God was certainly wise as He designed the church to be a family. We need each other as brothers and sisters, and we need to understand just how large of an impact we have on others. Our thought today is to encourage using positive things to "spur one another on to love and good deeds" (Heb 10:24) but we always need the remember and caution that the wrong kind of spark may be detrimental, as we are warned about in James 3:5.
God desires us to focus our attention on growing ourselves and our family members in the mindset of Christ Jesus our Lord. "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross." (Phil 2:5-8)
Our personal quest in our Christian walk is to be obedient to God through Christ, and our efforts and attitude can be very influential to our fellow Christians, building them up as they too seek him. This is certainly what God desires. As we have the opportunity to be the spark, let us pursue that with confidence, and if we are in need of some help, let us look for that spark inside of our church family. Collectively, our goal is to be more like Jesus...." He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ." (Col 1:28-29)
