Friday, January 1, 2016

Enjoy Him Forever


Has Christianity become a chore? For a lot of men it has. In most churches the number of women is greater than the number of men. It appears that Christianity or church is just another chore for many men. This was my attitude for a season. I worked a lot of Sundays because there was work that needed to be done on the ranch. My attitude didn’t change quickly. For a time, shooting trap and bird hunting was more important than Christianity. Those activities brought me joy. Unfortunately my heart toward God was cold. Christianity became a chore without much joy. 

I’m writing this from our couch where I’m ill, but I’m grateful for this illness because in it I’m reminded to enjoy God. Perhaps one of the reasons God takes our physical strength away is to remind us to enjoy him. Enjoying God is the best we can do in situations like this, and may be the only thing we are able to do. I didn’t have the strength to preach last Sunday, and haven’t felt well enough to leave my house. However, I can enjoy God by singing to him, praying for you, reading my Bible, and meditating upon his wondrous grace and faithfulness.

As a church, have we forgotten to enjoy God? Think about the first line of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “What is the chief end of man? Answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Glorifying God is not complete without enjoying him. Remember Lazarus’s sister Mary? She enjoyed God, but Martha was too busy for Jesus. 

Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said. But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42, NET). 

Mary chose to enjoy Jesus instead of the chores, and she made the best choice. Who do you think made the best choice? Was it Martha who was busy working, or was it Mary? Mary wasn’t afraid of Martha, the Lord had walked into her house and she was going to savor each moment. Perhaps the better question is, why isn’t Martha enjoying Jesus with Mary? And why don’t we enjoy Jesus like Mary did?

Philippians 4:4 reads “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!” Paul wrote that with enthusiasm because he had learned how to enjoy God in every circumstance. And now he tells the Philippians, and us, to always rejoice in the Lord. Enjoy God in your poverty, or in your wealth. Enjoy God in your sickness, or in your health. We must learn to enjoy God at all times without letting circumstances get in the way. Martha allowed kitchen work to pull her away from joy in Christ. You may allow your job to pull you away. Whatever it is that is pulling you away from enjoying God at home, and with your church family, set it aside and come back to Jesus. 

As we begin 2016 we could start a new list of chores, but all that matters is Jesus. If you make a list, put Jesus at #1. Determine to enjoy him every day of your life in 2016, enjoy him by hearing his word read, preached, and taught. Enjoy him as you pray to him. Enjoy him as you worship him at home and with our church family. Enjoy him when we take communion. Enjoy him as you care for your children or your grandchildren. Set aside time each day to spend with Jesus, to read and to pray. Then the next day, do it all over again.