I was driving home this
morning and noticed how the weeds had taken over farmland
nearby that used to
grow corn. Once the corn was harvested a cover crop was sown to keep the ground
fertile. Unfortunately, the owners sold the farm and no longer are growing any
corn. Some of the farmland has been set aside for a few horses. Some is being
divided into plots for a sub-division, and this one particular lot I have
mentioned is sitting idle, at least for now. Instead of the beautiful land we
used to see when we drove by, it is now covered in weeds as tall as I am.
This got me to thinking about
our spiritual lives as Christians. I’ll come back to that, but first of all
let’s consider some other examples.
My Mother-in-law’s car sits idle
most of the time in her carport. I mentioned to her the other day that it
really should be driven at least once a week to keep all the moving parts
working as they should.
Have you ever noticed that
when we don’t exercise, regardless of our age, our body gets weaker and pudgy?
Since our body wears down with age anyway, it gets even more critical to
exercise it to slow down the “blessings” of the aging process. My guess is that
most of us do not feel, in our minds, our actual age. In my mind, I feel much
younger than my age, but my body has a way of reminding me that I’m not a young
buck anymore. Can I get an “Amen” here?
Children aren’t as physically
active as we were when we were youngsters, but I’ve told my wife, on one of
those few occasions you spot one outside playing, “We used to be active like
that. What happened?” I used to run and jump over fences just for the pure joy
of it. Now, I don’t want to walk too far from the house, since I’m concerned
about getting back.
Sin brought corruption into
this world. When God created the world, everything was perfect. How do I know,
since I wasn’t here at the time? He said so. (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 3)
Can you really think of anything, since sin entered the world that does not
wear down? It is also true that many things in our world deteriorate even more
rapidly if left idle.
Our bodies need to be
maintained (food, drink, exercise) to keep working properly, but even then
aging takes its toll. Our spirit is much different. Unlike the body, it is
eternal. It is not aging, but it still needs to be maintained (food, drink,
exercise).
Far more often than not, most
Christians are not maintaining their spirit. With most Christians it (their
spirit) sits idle, and idleness reaps nothing but corruption. In using the word
“corruption” for this article, I am not saying they are “sleazy” people, as
this word would normally be defined.
I am saying that they are
becoming weak, as in a body that is not maintained. Living in this sin-bloated
world, we must be strong against Satan’s assaults. When bad things happen, and
they will, we must have the spiritual muscle to withstand. However, if we don’t
feed our spirit with the Word of God (Bible) and spend time in prayer
(fellowship with God), we’re going to have a much more difficult time living in
this world than a Christian who is growing spiritually in the Lord.
I am saying that they are
becoming weed-infested, as a piece of ground that is not maintained. If we
allow our spiritual lives to sit idle as the farmland I mentioned in the
opening paragraph, we won’t know what to believe. We will be so confused; we’ll
never be at peace with Truth. Our faith will be weak. We will be so full of
“weedy” questions; we’ll never be truly content, relaxing in God’s rest. We are
in God’s rest if we are a Christian, but are we relaxing in it, enjoying God’s grace?
“Let us therefore fear, lest,
a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to
come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1)
Many Christians are really
confused about the security of their salvation. One day they think they’re
saved. The next day they aren’t so sure. It’s because they have been idle and
their souls have become corrupted with the weeds of false gospel. Their ground
needs to be cleared and plowed so the cover crop can be sown.
Our God wants a close
relationship with us by our mutual fellowship with Him. He wants us to be
strong in faith and fertile in our life, but if our spiritual life sits idle,
we are not going to grow spiritually. We will always be fighting against the
current. Consider the following Scriptures.
“Slothfulness casteth into a
deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Proverbs 19:15)
Slothfulness in this verse
actually means “lazy.” If we are idle, we are lazy and starving our spiritual
self.
“By much slothfulness the
building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth
through.” (Ecclesiastes 10:18)
As with anything, idleness
brings nothing but corruption. The house just falls down around our ears while
we stand and watch.
“Behold, this was the
iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of
idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand
of the poor and needy.” (Ezekiel 16:49)
Jesus said that in the last
days the world would become as it was in the days of Noah and Lot. Notice that
this Scripture says that Sodom had an “abundance of idleness.” Maybe that’s one
of the major problems with the Church today. We have “an abundance of idleness”
and we are reaping corruption.
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
Rapture Ready: http://www.raptureready.com/featured/phillips/phillips.html
