“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. But this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
I have a love/hate relationship with Lazy Boy chairs. I love them because they are so comfortable. I hate them because they are…ugly. Many of you may not agree with me and I am ok with that as long as you know that you can wax poetic about Lazy Boy chairs all you want…I will still think they are ugly. That doesn’t mean they don’t have their purpose. We not only have a lounge chair for my husband, but it is also a lift chair…a much needed and appreciated tool when he had open heart surgery. The Drs. Were also happy to hear we had this for him after he was released from the hospital. It is still ugly. But then sometimes things don’t have to be beautiful to be useful and much needed.
The other thing about Lazy Boy chairs that I don’t like is that fact that they are so comfortable. They are designed to be but then they seem to encourage us to sit longer when there is work to be done. They are well named: Lazy Boy as their very comfort encourages us to just sit and be lazy.
We get the same way with our faith. It is far more comfortable to let others do the work we should be doing to deepen our relationship with God. We prefer to just be told what to do as it pertains to our faith. But here’s the thing: Our faith is designed for us to dig deep for ourselves. It is through our personal reading, praying, and participating that we grow close to God and God teaches us in God’s own way what God wants for us in our life. Our faith is not an armchair faith. We are each one of us our own quarterback.
And since we are in charge so to speak of our faith, what we choose to do or not do will determine how deep our life with God is. I think the first question we should ask then is what do I want out of this relationship with God the creator of all there is, ever was, or will be? For me, I want a close relationship. If that is what you want too, then just as our close relationships with one another take work, we need to do the work needed for a close relationship with God. Spending time each day reading scripture, praying, and other spiritual habits are important. Doing mission work which could be going on an actual mission trip or working in an outreach ministry, or a charitable organization are extensions of the quiet time we have with God. Another way is to reflect God’s love out to everyone you work with or interact with in any capacity during each day. “Church-speak” calls this discipleship. It is an important aspect of our faith development.
I guess the bottom line is whatever you choose to do in developing your relationship with God, it is something that you do with your whole heart filled with love for one another. It is not something we do half-heartedly. At least, I would hope that none of us want a lazy boy faith. That type of faith is as unattractive as the chair it is named after.
Peace,
Pastor Beth
Beth's Blog 