Author:
Marcus A. Turner
“I have been finding treasures in places I did not want to search. I have been hearing wisdom from tongues I did not want to listen. I have been finding beauty where I did not want to look. And I have learned so much from journeys I did not want to take. Forgive me, O Gracious One; for I have been closing my ears and eyes for too long. I have learned that miracles are only called miracles because they are often witnessed by only those who can can see through all of life's illusions. I am ready to see what really exists on other side, what exists behind the blinds, and taste all the ugly fruit instead of all that looks right, plump and ripe.”
― Suzy Kassem
I wonder, do we yet comprehend the power of images or design. How what we see impacts our lives. I know we say things like "seeing it, is believing it," or at other times, we assume the position of "Doubting Thomas," "I won't believe it until I see it." However, as I have gotten older, the things that I believe in most are invisible to the eyes. I once had a friend say to me that he doesn't believe in spirituality, but he subscribes to reality. I thought interesting. I had a black Muslim "Five Percenter" ask me did I believe in God? Once I said, "Yes," he said, "Prove it and don't start talking about some God who lives in heaven or who lives within you. So before you answer, make sure that whatever you say, you can prove." I smiled, and standing next to him was a beautiful little girl, so I asked him, "Is this beautiful young lady your daughter? He replied, "Yes." "I asked, "Do you love her?" He answered, "Yes." I said, "Prove it." He smiled. The most important things are in life or both natural and spiritual. There is no natural or temporal thing without the eternal, spiritual source. We don't see the wind, but we can feel and see its effects. We can't see love, character, or faith, but we can recognize its presence by its impact.
I often tell the above story because I am often perplexed by how natural-minded we have become. I am also baffled with Christians, who are so spiritual-minded that somehow they neglect the tenets of physical life. I believe we are spiritual beings having a natural experience. We have to realize that being human is understanding our ability to impact both realities, the spiritual and the physical. Jesus was called the Son of God and the Son of Man. It was never His intention for us to completely ignore one for the other. It was more about the proper order and context. The spiritual you is to rule the natural you to create the proper alignment, balance and harmony. If I want to lose weight, I can pray about it, which is good, but at some point, I must stop eating cake, and a little exercise wouldn't hurt either; otherwise, I am kidding myself. I can pray that God will eliminate my debt; however until I stop spending more than I earn, my prayers won't amount to very much. Faith without natural action is dead. I often speak to people who are quick to tell me what God is going to do, and again, I often smile. Because whatever He will do, he will use a man or woman to do it. So, are you that man or woman? Are you a person of action, or are you walking around telling everyone how they are wrong and you are right, attempting to show how spiritual and powerful you are? Our life should be our message, and our first work should be removing the mote out of our eye before we assist our brother or sister in removing the mote from their eye. There are no super Christians or super saints. We are all beneficiaries of God's love, grace, and mercy. The work of salvation is beautiful. However, the Apostle Paul made it clear; if we want to be transformed, it must be done through the renewing of our mind. Otherwise, you will have a new spirit with the same old life. The word of God is powerful, and we must seek it and live by it. But, it shouldn't paralyze us from the work we must do.
In the book of Corinthians 15: 10 AMP, the Apostle Paul noted: "But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me." Paul knew that he had a part to play, even though he was careful to give Christ credit as the author and finisher of his faith. The Bible says: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." We must remember that God gives us the image or blueprint, which is a completed work. God gave Noah the measurements and design of the Ark, but he didn't build it for him. Noah had to add faith and patience and endured ridicule and persecution to complete God's design. We must understand that we must do as Moses to produce the final work. We are co-creators with God, He has given us the design, but it's up to us to add the substance. Again Apostle Paul understood this, and noted:
"According to the [remarkable] grace of God which was given to me [to prepare me for my task], like a skillful master builder, I laid a foundation, and now another is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will be clearly shown [for what it is]; for the day [of judgment] will disclose it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality and character and worth of each person's work (1 Corinthians 3:10-13 AMP)." Here we see Paul tells us to be careful about how we build on God's design. He declares that Jesus Christ is the foundation, but he also tells us that we get to choose what substance we will build with, but we will also be responsible for the outcome. Again, prayer is good, but we must act.
Desmond Tutu noted: When the missionaries came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible, and they had the land." Even Jesus said, "Be watchful as well as pray." When you pray, there is always a corresponding action you must take. It's not in the heavens; it's in you. The children of Israel wandered the wilderness for 40 years, and the problem was not in their prayers, it was in them. Whenever I am facing a problem, and it's not changing, I don't look at God, I look at me. What can I do differently? As Fredrick Douglass noted: "I prayed for twenty years, but received no answers until I prayed with my legs." At some point, we must conclude that our lives are genuinely our prayer. Prayer or even worship is what we do daily. It's not the hour or so that you might kneel before God, which is good and necessary. However, it is indeed incomplete if your life is out of sync with your prayer. Have A Limitless Day!
