What drives our lives? by P. Ravenhill

Thinking Aloud... What drives our lives?
By Paul Ravenhill

The age in which we live seems to be driven by the force of activities and statistics. Results, numbers, responses, miles traveled, meetings attended, conferences addressed, mailing lists, books, articles, the famous who are known to us, all these things garner the approach and admiration of the silly "Christian" population.

The steady faithful labor which is "not in vain in the Lord;" the incorruptibleness of he who is outside the whole futile "rat race;" those who serve as they "watch and wait;" the desert place of preparation and revelation - these seem to have no place in our thinking.

The one who has heard a different music, who has heard a Voice speaking to him alone, is sadly missing in our midst.

Man is called not to do the facile but the impossible.

The facile is to find a method, a system, and to make it work... to wind it up and let it run in a giddy frenzy of "success." We become famous in the proportion of our success, although placed on the scales of eternity this may prove to be as empty as a dream, a mere illusion of our own twisted thinking.

The impossible has to do with the spirit of man inhabiting an earthly body and reaching out to possess eternity. It has to do with taking the values of eternity and living on a plane where it is not the earthly with all its values which is important. John says, "when He shall appear, we shall be like Him." Another translation reads "if" He appear... That is - we shall be like Him if we see Him... if the glaze and glitter of earths values have not blinded our eyes.

"Looking unto Jesus" and "beholding" Him is still THE thing which God cares about in our lives.