Reluctant Retiree

Have you ever misread a situation that significantly impacted you? Have later discussions and events cleared up your misconceptions to the point of giving you understanding and comfort? I find this happening to me all the time. I frequently misinterpret situations and their effects.

Mark 8:33 says, “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” When we start with an incorrect mindset, we cannot possibly accurately assess situations. Our view of the circumstances will be distorted.

In the verse above, Jesus is scolding Peter for just this type of incorrect mindset. Peter was concerned about the things that were about to happen to Jesus and their impact upon his place in an earthly kingdom. Jesus knew that He was about to be arrested and killed on the cross, but His mind was set on bringing salvation and forgiveness to many.

Incorrect mindsets leave us selfish and self-centered and keep us from doing many good works. Minds set on the things of God led us to worship, thankfulness, and generosity.

You can drive down one side of a street in Bristol and be in Virginia, but drive on the other side of the street and be in Tennessee. There is a place in the Southwest where four states come together and you can have parts of your body in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah simultaneously. You can take a ski lift up an Alpine mountain, walk along a trail that will take you to a place where Switzerland, Austria and Lichtenstein meet. Being in two places at one time is possible in thousands of physical locations around the world.

For the believer in Jesus Christ, this idea of being in two places at one time has a different reality. Of course we are present in and live in this world. But Jesus has chosen to prepare our eternal home in heaven. We are citizens of heaven. Therefore we do not hold tightly the things of this world, but place our hope and attention on the things of heaven. We live to glorify God and seek to honor Him in all we do.

John 15:19 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” The world does not understand that believers are in two places at one time, so we have a difficult relationship with the world. But our focus is on loving and serving God.

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34

Jesus took the form of man to demonstrate that He understands our struggles, among many other reasons. As this story unfolds, the disciples had just returned from their individual evangelistic journeys. Jesus was taking them away for rest and restoration. But when they got to shore, a large crowd was waiting with their many needs.

Jesus would go onto meeting physical and other needs, but the need that He identified for immediate attention was their spiritual need. The people were taught by leaders simply to obey rules without an underlying relationship with God. Jesus wanted to demonstrate that God does indeed have compassion on them. So he taught them truth and then met other needs. Later He provided them food through the miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish. He healed their diseases and gave them freedom from spiritual oppression.

Jesus understands our problems and struggles. He has compassion on us and stands ready to help, heal, and carry us through to the other side. Instead of seeking to fix our problems ourselves, we should seek His divine wisdom and strength.

We all know the feeling of going to a new place. Perhaps the scene itself is eerie and causes some fear. Maybe we feel uncomfortable because we are suddenly amongst people that we don’t know and we wonder what is expected of us. A new place can also present some physical challenges to us. However, our homes or other safe and familiar places make us comfortable and somewhat confident.

Paul describes another place that those who have trusted in Jesus Christ can feel confident, that is the presence of God. Romans 5:2 says, “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” When we walk close to God by faith we rejoice in the hope of glory. His grace has invited us into His presence. He promises to never leave us. He is preparing our eternal home to be with Him in His glory. All this combines to give us eternal hope and confidence.

I woke up this morning with a cold. One of the cold symptoms that I dislike the most is the fog that can come over your thinking. Then I don’t want to think about anything because the fog covers the mental landscape and makes it difficult to hold a thought.

A clear conscience allows us to think clearly and make good judgments. However, having a clear conscience requires that we live righteously. When we sin, our outlook is fogged over and we can’t see the right way forward.

Because of this truth, Paul wrote that one of the requirements for a church leader was that the person must hold fast to faith with a clear conscience. He wrote, “They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.” The person of faith believes that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Walking in righteousness gives us access to God’s wisdom and His power through the Holy Spirit.