03-16-21-- (Mark 8:32-33)
My friend, may I ask you a question? What about spiritual flabbiness? Is this something that we should also be willing to relegate to the inevitable? Are “flabby” Christians of any use to God?
My friend, life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day. I’m M. Clifford Brunner.
I’ve been meaning to lose weight--for a long time, that is. I’m also finding out that losing weight was a lot easier when I was younger and more active. For that reason, I’ve have come to an awareness that the inch I pinched when I was young that threw me into a panic of weight-lifting and jogging, doesn’t have the same effect in my middle age. I’ve grown to accept some flabbiness as just part of who I am; a middle-aged man with bad knees and good intentions.
But, what about spiritual flabbiness? Is this something that we should also be willing to relegate to the inevitable? Are “flabby” Christians of any use to God?
On December 29, 1987, a Soviet cosmonaut returned to the earth after 326 days in orbit. He was in good health, which hasn’t always been the case in those record-breaking voyages. Five years earlier, touching down after 211 days in space, two cosmonauts suffered from dizziness, high pulse rates, and heart palpitations. They couldn’t walk for a week, and after 30 days, they were still undergoing therapy for atrophied muscles and weakened hearts. At zero gravity, the muscles of the body begin to waste away because there is no resistance. To counteract this, the Soviets prescribed a vigorous exercise program for the cosmonauts. They invented the “penguin suit,” a running suit laced with elastic bands. It resists every move the cosmonauts make, forcing them to exert their strength. Apparently the regimen is working. (Craig Brian Larson.)
The fact of the matter is, a life of pleasure without suffering will ultimately make us flabby and weak from a spiritual perspective. As we long dreamily for days without difficulty, God has a very different plan in mind. He knows that the easier our life, the weaker our spiritual fiber and that strength of any kind grows only by exertion. The Christian road of life is not a paved road to wealth and the easy life. There’s hard work, disappointment and, yes, pain and sorrow along the way. This is God’s plan for us to endure. We need to suit up each day and willingly undergo God’s spiritual exercise that often includes a good workout of affliction. This is one intention that we really need to put into action.
We pray. Heavenly Father, we know that a life of pleasure without suffering will ultimately make us flabby and weak from a spiritual perspective. You have taught us that in Your Word. Yet we long dreamily for days without difficulty, all the while knowing You have a very different plan in mind. You know that the easier our life, the weaker our spiritual fiber and that strength of any kind grows only by exertion. Forgive us Lord when we become complacent and lazy, longing for an easier life without affliction. The Christian road of life is not a paved road to wealth and the easy life. There’s hard work, disappointment and, yes, pain and sorrow along the way. This is Your plan for us to endure. We need to suit up each day and willingly undergo Your spiritual exercise which often includes a good workout of affliction. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day.
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