Reluctant Retiree

The National Football League playoffs have begun and the crowds are back in full force. The faithful cheer on their team with great fervor, wearing the team colors and waving team towels. When a player makes a mistake, the crowd groans in disappointment. When a player performs well, the crowd stands and cheers. At the end of the game, the crowd rejoices wildly or weeps loudly.

We have heard it said that life is like an athletic contest. Life, however is more a marathon race than a three hour game. We will have fumbles and misplays occasionally, but, hopefully we will run consistently well.

The Bible has some words to say about the marathon race of life. Hebrew 12:1-2 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

God, the angels, and saints are in the stadium, watching us and cheering us on as we run the race of life. They witness our misplays, or sins. They also see our heroic and selfless deeds. In both cases, they cheer for us, encouraging us to keep moving forward. To run effectively we need to take off the things that slow us down or trip us up. Keeping our eyes on Jesus makes us run toward the finish line in the path of righteousness.

So it behooves each of us to run the race of life as if to win. Let’s put aside sin, be clothed in the righteousness of Jesus, and continue to look at Jesus.

Have you ever forgotten something really important. As I get older it is getting harder and harder to remember things. So far I haven’t forgotten something really important, but names and events are sometimes difficult to immediately recall. It can be embarrassing and awkward. But I certainly do not want to offend anyone with my forgetfulness.

With more than 7 billion people in the world, we might think that God would forget a name, a request, a promise or a need on occasion. But He never does. In fact, He promises to be right there with each of us all the time.

Psalm 8:1, 3-4 says, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

Despite the fact that God created all things and that He sustains all things, He still cares for you and me. We are never out of His mind. He is always working on our behalf. He longs to give us mercy and grace to help us. Why would we ever choose to reject that kind of love?

When I am involved in a conversation, I often find myself with self-centered thoughts. How can I turn this conversation to me? Can I say something brilliant to get them to respect me? What are they missing that I can add to this topic? Many of my thoughts concern efforts to draw the attention of others toward me.

Dozens of essays and papers have been written on the topic of relationship goals. These articles want us to consider what we want out of each relationship. While sometimes the goals are intended for mutual growth, oftentimes these objectives are more selfish, considering only what I can get out of this relationship. We are encouraged to think about where the relationship will take me.

God has a completely different idea about relationships. He wants us to consider what can benefit the other person, and beyond that, what could benefit others impacted by this relationship. Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.”

What would happen if we viewed our relationships with these goals, stirring up love and good deeds? Increasing love in our community would be one welcome benefit. A move to doing more good works for others would benefit us all. Less selfishness would reduce quarrels and thereby decrease anger. Let’s make our primary relationship goals to be stirring up others, that is encouraging others to be more loving and doing more good for people. Living by the example Jesus set would be a start. Asking Him to help us be strong encouragers would give us the power to follow through.

The auto mechanic promised to have the car fixed by five. Now, he says it will take two more days and you have no way to get home from work today and to work for the next two days. Plus you have to get your daughter to piano lessons and your son to soccer practice.

You called the store and they said that they had plenty of the items you need for the dinner you planned for your boss. You make it to the store and find that they are all out of one key ingredient. The dinner is planned for two hours from now. You don’t have time to change the menu or search for the missing ingredient.

Your boss promised to give you a substantial raise in three months. Four months have passed and still no raise. The bills are stacking up and the refrigerator sounds like it is ready to explode. When promises are made to us, we count on the trustworthiness of the promise-giver.

Sadly, in today’s world promises are often left unfulfilled and we have to find another way to work through our struggles. Fortunately, God always fulfills His promises. So His promise to give forgiveness of sins and salvation to all who believe in Jesus Christ is a certainty that we can count on. We can rest on His promise to meet our needs. We know with full assurance that He will work all things together for good if we love Him and are called according to His purpose. God has the power and authority to fulfill His promises. And He is good and loves us so He will work for our good.

Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” Because God is faithful to His promises and to us, we should respond in faithfulness to Him. He is worthy of our sincere faith and love.

I frequently use an online ticket broker to purchase tickets to sporting events and concerts. Of course, it is imperative to use a properly approved and trusted broker to ensure the tickets are valid for entry to the events. It can be embarrassing and costly to buy invalid tickets.

Coming before God’s throne requires that we have the proper ticket, as well. Hebrews 10:22 says, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” So drawing near to God requires a true desire, sincere faith, and a clean conscience. When we trust in Jesus for salvation, He changes our desires, encourages and develops our faith, and cleanses us from sin. Then we are ready to approach God’s throne in prayer and worship. We can come to Him with confidence because Jesus Christ goes before us and with us as our advocate and intercessor. Without the cleansing that the blood of Jesus provides and faith in His sacrifice, we dare not approach God’s throne.