Splitting Wood
Doesn't it often feel as if life isn't much more than constant preparation?
This is how my day began: 1) Prayed (prepared my heart for the day); 2) Read Scripture (prepared my thoughts for the day); 3) Ate breakfast (prepared my body for the day); 4) Drank coffee (prepared my energy for the day); and 5) Made my to-do list (prepared my plan for the day). That's lots of preparation.
Now consider that my preparation required preparation. Before praying, I had to know where I was going to pray and go to that place in the house. Before reading Scripture, I had to get my Bible out and know what I was going to read. Before eating breakfast, I had to scoop protein shake mix into the glass, add milk, and blend. Before drinking coffee, I had to grind the beans, put water in the coffee maker, insert the filter, add the grounds, and push the "on" button. Before I made my to-do list, I had to get out my schedule and paper and pen. That's a lot of preparation just to prepare to do the things I need to do. And now that I think about it, even the preparation needed to prepare requires preparation (i.e. coffee beans have to be purchased), but I won't belabor the point.
Much of life is simply preparation. Much of our daily activity is simply comprised of "the means." We tend to fixate on "the ends." That's good and right. However, the means are important. The means are necessary. We need the means because without them we won't get to the ends. Without preparation, we won't do the things that we need to do in order to do the things that we need to do (that's a confusing sentence).
There are many things Christians need to do each day, but all of those things can be boiled down to ONE thing: obedience to God. For the sake of my point, think of obedience as the ends. Obedience should be our daily goal because it is through obedience that we show our love to God (John 14:15). It's how we honor Him. It's how we please Him and pleasing Him is the ambition of a believer (2 Corinthians 5:9). It's through our joyful obedience that glorify the God who loves us. It's how we display our submission to His Lordship.
Obeying God is good. We know that it's right. So why is it that we struggle so much to live lives in loving, humble obedience to God? I could answer this question by getting all theological. I could get into a discussion about the dichotomy of the Christian condition resulting from the conflict between the persistence of our old inherited, carnal nature and the intending ministry of the Holy Spirit. As riveting as that discussion may be, I just want to point out that one of the simple reasons we struggle so much with obedience is because we don't plan for it. All too often the problem is that we simply lack in preparation.
In Genesis 22:2 God says to Abraham: "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering..." Most of us have a hard time obeying God with much easier and simpler matters (i.e. tithing, praying for others, etc.). Just imagine God asking you to do this.
How does Abraham respond? "So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him" (22:3). Abraham responded immediately by making all the preparations necessary to be obedient. The act of obedience would be sacrificing his son, but before he could do that, much had to be prepared.
One of the acts of preparation was splitting wood. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. I'm not a burnt offering expert, but I'm pretty sure you would need wood to make it happen. So, Abraham "split wood."
Note that God told Abraham to go to Moriah. There were trees in Moriah. Abraham could have waited until he got to Moriah to cut down a tree, but that's not what he did. He made all the preparations necessary from the beginning. He fully prepared from the start in order to be fully obedient in the end. His preparation showed that his desire was fixed on being obedient.
Much of our disobedience is due to the fact that we aren't preparing for obedience. We aren't splitting wood in advance. Here's the truth bomb: acts of preparation lead us to acts of obedience.
Here are just a few examples of what it means to split wood:
- Prepare your daily schedule so that you make time to pray to God and to read the Bible (prioritize, build into your daily routine).
- Prepare your weekly itinerary so that you have time for Christian community (to be part of a small group Bible study, to spend time with fellow believers to encourage one another, to pray with Christians).
- Prepare your gifts and talents so that you may serve in your church and community (hone your skills, develop your talents, use your spiritual gifts).
- Prepare your heart and mind for spiritual growth (growing in faith doesn't happen by accident but only as believers make time to develop their theological understanding - read good Christian books).
- Prepare your budget so that you can tithe to church and give to others who are in need (get out of debt, become financially responsible, cut unnecessary wasteful spending, prioritize God's kingdom).
What is the wood that you need to be splitting in your life? What are some things you need to be preparing so that you may be obedient? What are some things you could do that would set you up for successful obedience?
Prepare for obedience. Prepare in advance. Preparation shows that you're serious about obeying God. Preparation shows that your desire is fixed on loving Him who first loved you. Acts of preparation show that you're ready for acts of obedience.
In awe of Jesus,
Comments
Post a Comment