Reluctant Retiree

We cannot deny that lawlessness is increasing in our society. Crowds brazenly swarm businesses to take everything they can carry out. Individuals simply walk out of retail establishments without bothering to pay for the things in their carts. Street crimes against individuals occur daily in big and small cities alike. Politicians differ on how to address the crime wave, but little action is taken.

Jesus spoke of the end times when He said, “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” ( Matthew 24:12-14) Though many people around you may move away from God and seek to do lawless deeds, keep strong in the faith and make sure that your love of God and others is increasing.

Most of us have a defined set of right and wrong, while understanding that other people may define right and wrong differently. The problem with everybody’s definitions of right and wrong is that they are learned from flawed people and are improperly influenced by our own attitudes, selfishness, pride, lust and greed. When we apply such definitions to our behavior and judgments of other people’s behavior, conflict and chaos arise.

Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” The only reliable standard for right and wrong is found in God’s Word. When we do what seems right in our own eyes, our judgment is negatively influenced by our selfishness, pride, and fears. Proverbs 14:12 says it this way, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” God possesses all wisdom and is not motivated by selfish gain or self-centeredness. Therefore, He is a reliable and perfect source to provide the definitions or right and wrong.

The apostle John wrote, “So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (I John 4;16) God is love. Of course, God has many other attributes, like holiness, justice, infinite, and wise. But through all His attributes, His love is also displayed. He will not act outside of His love.

II Corinthians 3:17-19 is Paul’s prayer for the church and says, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Knowing and experiencing God’s love more each day leads us to becoming more like Him. Paul encourages us to seek to know the breadth and length and height and depth of God’s love. We can never, on this side of eternity, exhaust the understanding of God’s love for us. Let’s make it a lifelong goal and a daily practice to experience and know the love of God more.

My wife and I have two different ways of attacking a job. She likes to plan and make sure everything is right and fully understand what she is going to do. She works at the task meticulously and takes her time. Her only fault is she may get sidetracked with another job. She generally has several tasks going at the same time and has difficulty finishing some of them. My approach is much different. I dig right in and work hard at the job. However I may not possess all the knowledge and tools that I need. I work fast and finish the job quickly, but my work is not always the highest quality.

Acts 20:24 says, “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Whatever God wants you to do, do it well and finish this good work. You don’t want to look back and be ashamed at unfinished works or works not done well, for then you may not have accomplished all that God wanted you to do.

We are entering a rainy season. While it may be inconvenient for me, the farmers need the rain. I don’t think that I could ever be a good farmer. They are in a constant state of waiting. They must wait for the rains to feed the ground. They wait for the crops to grow. Patience is not my strong suit, but I am trying to learn and grow in the practice of waiting.

James 5:7 says, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains.” We must learn patience as all things will be made right when the Lord returns. Learning patience is difficult as we want control over the circumstances and fear something will go wrong while we wait. But the reality is that we cannot control the circumstances, as only God can and does. He will make all things right when Jesus returns, removing all suffering and replacing it with eternal joy and love. In the meantime, we trust in Him to work on our behalf.