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The Prize

             I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)

 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;  though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. (Psalm 37:23-26)

 The first verse is Biblegateway.com’s verse of the day. The second set of verses is a couple of verses further along in Psalm 37, which we’ve been exploring over the past several days. Together, they bring us back to a thought explored before – that the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus is God, Himself because the Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him.

And if the goal and the prize are God, Himself, then there is no reason not to be generous and lend freely because God will not let us miss God as our prize and we certainly can’t give Him away in a way that depletes our supply of Him. It is when we prize other things equally or more (or perhaps at all) that we find ourselves in difficulties.

I have to wonder if today might be an example of that. I spent the morning helping a friend. I spent the better part of the afternoon talking to two neighbors. I managed to get most of the basics basically done, but it’s almost 9:30 pm, and this blog is not written, and I haven’t done more than open the file containing the story I wanted to work on today. The only reading I did all day is what I listened to while driving.

I don’t resent building the relationships I built. Let’s just say that while being generous with my time happens, it’s usually at a high emotional cost to me. I can’t just shrug my shoulders. I’m glad I did what I did, but that doesn’t mean my not doing what I didn’t do doesn’t hurt me. Tonight, I’m feeling a little like the widow with the 2 mites. I’ll admit that there was time wasted today – that seems unavoidable, and no one should feel guilty about how I chose to spend my time.

But the reality is – as my sister has pointed out – that sometimes God has other plans for us, plans for our welfare and not our destruction, to give us a future and a hope – but sometimes He doesn’t check with us to see how those plans fit with ours.

 

 

 

 

 

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