Reluctant Retiree

Most of us enjoy telling stories to others. Some are true. Some are exaggerated. And some are not so true. The stories that I enjoy hearing the most are the ones about what has truly happened in another person’s life. I once went on a carriage ride in Ireland. I can honestly say that I have never met anyone who enjoyed telling stories as much as this gentleman. Pick any subject or ask any question and he was ready to tell a story. It was a lot of fun listening to him.

In Mark 5:24-25 Jesus speaks to a man whom He had just healed: “‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had dne for him, and everyone marveled.” Everyone who believes in Jesus has a story to tell of what the Lord has done for them. Tell your story and do not be afraid, because no one can honestly dispute your story.

When we seek out instruction on how to do something, we must pay attention to the information given to us. If we fail to listen and follow the instructions, we will most likely not succeed in what we are trying to learn to do.

Mark 4:24-25 says, “And he said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from he one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.'” We must listen to what God says in His Word and apply it to our lives in order to receive all the blessings God has for us. If we fail to follow His instructions for life, we will likely miss out on some of the blessings He has for us.

In our culture, there are many ways to become someone’s child. Of course, the most common is through natural childbirth. But an adopted child is no less of a child of his/her parents than one through a natural childbirth. They have all the rights, privileges, love and caring of other children.

John 1:12-13 says, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” Those who trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord become His children. And as our Heavenly Father, God loves each of us with an everlasting and abundant love, deeply caring for us. As His child we have all the rights, privileges, love and inheritance of everyone in His family.

Sometimes when I am in a group and serving others, I will do some little thing and someone will come right behind me and change it or do it again. When this happens, I feel like my efforts were in vain, that I didn’t really accomplish anything, and that I have been disrespected. Sometimes, no matter how well we do something, it will feel like we did it in vain, not really accomplishing anything.

I Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.” The only way to make sure that your life and efforts are not useless is to be steadfast in trust, immovable in faith and truth and love, and abounding in doing all God leads you to do. Faith, truth, and love will unfailingly accomplish good when paired with following God’s power. Left to our own devices we really do not achieve lasting benefits. But with humility and dependence upon the Lord our efforts will achieve everlasting benefits.

Sometimes we get the feeling that God doesn’t care about us. Oh, we know intellectually that He cares about the world in general, but we don’t think that He cares about us individually. He seems distant when we struggle. Our prayers seem to be unanswered. We think that we and our problems are too small for a Sovereign God to know, understand and do something about.

Mark 1:40-41 says, “And a leper came to him imploring him, and kneeling said to him, ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean.'” In these verses, one desperate man, a leper, came to Jesus. He believed that Jesus could heal him, if only Jesus cared about him. Jesus was moved by compassion and healed the man. Jesus knows each of us thoroughly and understands our hurts and pains. He wants to heal all of our broken places, pains, sadness, and hurts. We need to simply and humbly ask Him to heal us, believing that He cares about each of us and is able to heal our brokenness.