Blinded

To say that this summer has been busy for me would be an extreme understatement. I have been every where from Texas to Panama, and still had the chance to have camp with our teenagers. I rushed from one place to another for most of the summer, and it took somewhat of a toll on the focus and intent that I had originally set forth for this year. I had envisioned a summer packed full of youth events with students over flowing at every one, but it panned out quite differently. Why? There was too much going on for everyone who was involved. We had become distracted by the goings on of this life, and as a result we had difficulty to make much time for anything else. Some would claim this is just part of life, but I disagree. We tend to wrap ourselves up in this life in order to avoid what we consider to be a heavier burden. We in essence blind ourselves to the Kingdom of God.

                When I was in Panama, I was reminded that the Kingdom of God goes well beyond me and the walls of a church building in Tennessee. God’s Kingdom has no boundaries or barriers, but we don’t remember that because of our own blindness. We forget that there are Christians elsewhere struggling with the same situations that we are, and they can sympathize with us in that. In fact, we have turned a blind eye as to how blessed we truly are to be Christians in a world superpower. We have clean water, an adequate level of health, and an education that eliminates barriers for us. However, we are soft and weak in the ways that hinder our faith. We are far too comfortable with the world, and we are far too afraid that our “necessities” (which to the majority of the world is luxury) might be taken away. So we blind ourselves to everything else, and create a bubble to live in. As a result, we become complacent and lazy in our spiritual life, and look for pity in how “bad” we have it. We complain because our “rights” are infringed.

                When we begin to blind ourselves from the reality of the Kingdom and life, we create a death trap from which we do not want to escape. We become doubters and unbelievers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We doubt that he is enough because we live like He isn’t. We accumulate stuff to realize it is pointless. We live “freely” from the Gospel by fudging the “rules,” and slowly accommodate a worldly lifestyle to be Christian. We claim to be believers, but we live like unbelievers. 2 Cor. 4:2-4 deal with the fact that we who have chosen to be followers of God have given up these things for the kingdom. If we have not, then we are not part of God’s Kingdom. It is time to take the blinders off, and open our eyes to the reality of the world. Only then can we truly begin to serve whole heartedly.