Reluctant Retiree

When we lived in Nepal I observed all that the religious people did. They followed intricate rules for daily worship and observing frequent festivals. I was amazed by their attention to detail, but also wondered how they remembered all these processes.

My God has chosen to do things much differently. He gave Israel a set of laws to obey, but this was to demonstrate to them and to us that they couldn’t please God by following laws. They, and we, are unable to achieve righteousness by obeying a set of laws.

So how do we please God and become righteous? Knowing that we couldn’t achieve righteousness in our own efforts, God’s love and mercy provided a sacrifice to cover our sins and give us the forgiveness necessary. He offered His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place and take upon Himself God’s wrath against sin. So that we can know how to respond to His love, God then writes His will and plan upon our hearts.

Hebrews 8:10 says, “I will put my laws into their minds, and write them upon their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Accept God’s forgiveness by trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Let Him show you His mercy and grace.

If you only had time to deliver one last message to your family what would it be? Furthermore, if you were given the opportunity to deliver a message to all humanity, what would you say? What words would you use to describe the most important message from your life? Maybe you have the cure for cancer? Maybe you have the message that will bring peace and happiness to the world. Maybe you just want to express your love.

All of these thoughts are profound and worthy. But the gospel is the truth that can save all mankind. God has provided a means by which we can all enjoy peace and joy now and glory with salvation and redemption for eternity. It is important to note that He didn’t just give us a message of salvation, but He also gave us the means of salvation. He gave His Son to die on a cross and by His blood give us forgiveness for our sins and eternal life. All people everywhere can believe in God’s gift of salvation and receive life, peace, hope and love from the Father. This is the message that I most want my family and the world to hear and believe.

Romans 1:16:17 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.'”

What if the President of the United States wanted to come to your house for a visit? Additionally, what if he wanted to do a live broadcast of your conversation with him from your living room? How would you prepare for such an amazing experience? Would you deep clean every part of your house? Perhaps you would even do some painting and remodeling. Would you go buy new clothes and have a beauty makeover? Would you have a fancy meal prepared by yourself or a caterer? Just what would you do to prepare for a visit by the President or some other distinguished guests?

Psalm 24:7-8 says, “Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!” The Lord wants to come to you. He is not just some national leader, entertainment celebrity, or business owner. He is the Creator of all things and Almighty God. But He is not asking you to do anything to prepare for His coming, except open up. Open your heart to receive His love and mercy. Open your soul to receive eternal life and His glory. Open your spirit to receive His forgiveness. Open up and He will come in.

Sometimes I have trouble distinguishing between what I want and what I need. I don’t see myself as a greedy person, but needs and wants do confuse me. When I have a choice between two products, do I choose the more expensive one only because I want it or because it is a better purchase in the long run? When I purchase a new item, am I thinking about my needs or does this shiny new thing just attract my baser desires? I want a cookie, but I really need an apple.

Psalm 23:1 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.” This verse is so familiar to us that we can miss some of its meaning. As our Shepherd, God promises to provide our needs, but not necessarily everything that we want. The word “want” in the verse means a lack of what is needed, not just a desire. Also as our Shepherd, God protects us from dangers that we see and even the ones that are unseen by us. Because He provides and protects, He also removes our anxieties and fears.

However, to receive these blessings from God we must be His sheep. That begins with trusting in Jesus for salvation and redemption. We must invite Him to become our Savior and Lord, and then we become His sheep and He becomes our Shepherd. As His sheep, we only need to listen to His voice and follow Him to receive His provision, protection and security.

When we are children we never want to slow down and rest. As adults, the opposite is true. We can never seem to find the time and right circumstances to truly rest. We drag ourselves into work each day and give the job our best efforts. Then we come home to give our hearts to another set of needs. Weekends and vacations help, but the rest derived from these soon dissipates in the rush of daily lives. A good bed helps, but we don’t get to spend enough time there. And when we do get to bed, our anxieties keep us awake.

Part of the problem is that all this busyness and effort reflect our desire to prove we are good enough. Good enough to earn a good living and promotions on the job. Good enough to have a healthy and successful family. Good enough to be respected in the community. And good enough to earn God’s favor.

The problem with trying to be good enough is that the standard for “good enough” has never been defined for us. We give our best efforts but still don’t know if we ever cross the line into “good enough”. Thankfully it doesn’t work that way with God. We can never be “good enough” to earn God’s favor. His standard is perfect holiness. No one can ever be perfectly holy outside of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Fortunately, God made a way for us to cross the line into “good enough”. But our good works are of no use. Instead we must enter into a relationship with God by confessing our limitations (sins) and trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior for salvation and redemption. When we have done that, we enter God’s rest. Hebrews 4:9-10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.”

Find real rest in the security of knowing God and spending eternity with Him.