I love positive life. But guys like me can present a misconception regarding our approach. Life is what Jesus promises. We want to remember that even car batteries have both positive and negative posts in order that power thrive.
Discipleship calls for a hairline separation between being positive and being alive. Not everything alive looks positive; the Flood, Joseph's Pit, and the Cross would serve as examples. Not everything goes right on the surface. The difference is in the Divine Yes. For as many as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes.
Our calling in the church is not necessarily to be positive; but is to be so alive that even in negative situations God will ultimately provide the positive side. For instance, it is said at times God just wants me to be happy. I can't think of such a biblical revelation; but I can think of a place where He wants us to be content....in all circumstances; positive or negative.
The parable of the talents concluded with two rewarded and one rejected. There are not three positive developments. We are not called to view all three as positive moves for they are not; one is not. We are to reject the pattern of the third talent one in our own walk. We are not called to be positive. We are called to shift and adjust and even repent of our misfirings that life would avail.
In the church, granted, we could use a stronger dose of positivity. However, to lean toward everything must be positive in order to be kingdom connected is to miss a very positive point; the value of negative challenge which will positively make us stronger.
1 comment:
God is at work in "all things" and he is always working for the good, of course, because God is good. The cross is his greatest example of that. If we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, even the "bad" things can work for good. When your sons legs and arms have just been blown off in Afghanistan, however, this is difficult to imagine.
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