(06.18.21– Not My Fault! –John 15:4-5)
My friend, may I ask you a question? Do you as a Christian often find yourself blaming stuff for your problems before first examining your control behind and over that stuff?
My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.
I'm M. Clifford Brunner.
I've long been in the habit of blaming "things" when matters don't go the way I wanted them to. Recently I was sanding a piece of cabinet molding and ending up putting a deep gouge into the finish. I had to throw the piece away and start over. The first words out of my mouth when the sander dug into the wood were "thanks a lot!" As if the sander really had any- thing to do with my inability to control the track of what needed to be sanded and how long that surface should remain under the sander. Nevertheless, my first thought was to lay the blame on the "thing" and not myself.
As Christians we often find ourselves doing just that–blaming stuff before first examining our control behind the stuff.
Here's a story: There once was an unhappy apple branch that blamed the apple tree for restricting his ability to grow. "Why do I have to be attached to this tree?" he muttered. "I would fair much better if I was on my own!" And with this, it unsuccessfully tried to shake itself free. Then, one night, a lightning strike severed the faultfinding branch from its mother trunk. Soon the branch's buds were turning gray. "It's not my fault!" it reasoned. The independent branch soon began to see that he was the only branch with wilting buds. All of a sudden he heard footsteps. The gardener was coming! The rebellious branch felt himself being picked up and transported out of the orchard. Only too late he found out, to his horror, that his fate would be FAR from ideal: "Not the fire! I didn't do anything wrong." But the smoke prevented him from seeing the tears in the gardener's eyes. (Author unknown.)
"Why Lord?" we cry. "Why am I not bearing fruit? It can't be my fault!" The answer is simple: Apart from Jesus "we can do nothing!" (John 15:4). All too often we try to remedy the symptoms instead of the problem itself. We take self-help courses on finding spiritual peace and discovering joy in our lives. No matter what kind of effort we put forth, our problem will remain. Symptoms can be treated, but healing can only be done if the problem itself is treated. The fault is not with things but with us. If we don't stay closely connected with Christ, we will die spiritually, no matter what "things" we try. Don't blame "things" when "things" are only a product of how we USE them.
We pray. Heavenly Father, "Why am I not bearing fruit?" You tell us Lord that: Apart from Jesus "we can do nothing!.” Forgive us when we try to remedy the symptoms of spiritual emptiness instead of the problem itself. We take self-help courses on finding spiritual peace and discovering joy in our lives. No matter what kind of effort we put forth, our problem will remain. Symptoms can be treated, but we also know that without Your Spirit, healing can never take place. The fault is not with things but with us. If we don't stay closely connected with You, we will die spiritually, no matter what "things" we try. 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. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.
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<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.