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| Take hold of life |
| Written by Reinhard Bonnke |
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Jesus once talked about a man who went on and on working. Then one day he decided that it was time to retire. About to enjoy the proceeds of 40 years of labour, he received an unexpected message: “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you” (Luke 12:20). What a tragedy! He had waited too long before really starting to live. Jeremiah, that genuinely holy prophet, showed us the harsh, unadulterated truth about his nation, Judah. He warned their last king, Zedekiah, before Babylon swept the land with a broom, he said: “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved” (Jeremiah 8:20). The situation was very similar to that of the hard-working man; the people had had a good time but had still missed out on real life. High and transcendent purpose It reminds me of a simple man’s prayer: “Lord, bless me and my wife, our son and his wife, us four and no more. Amen.” Is that life – no higher transcendent purpose, nothing but blessing for ourselves? Well, without God that is what life is like. Either God is in our lives or what we have is ultimately nothing more than a humdrum, dead-end existence – in the middle of the world, a merry-go-round that will sooner or later run out of steam. What is life without God? We are utterly irrelevant, and so is the whole world of industry and business. Anything that takes no account of Jesus Christ is ultimately pointless. The Maker’s plan What God was prepared to do for us is measured only by the Cross. He gave everything he had! Things such as grace, goodness, his blessing and the gifts are all part of that great package, that overwhelming gift to us – Jesus Christ. The quality of the God-given life is shown by the price that he was willing to pay – his beloved Son.
In Jesus we are given everything we need to set us off on a really true life – “God has dealt to each one a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3 NKJV). However, this does not happen automatically – we are completely free to accept it or reject it. There are so many gifts that we receive without asking; the sun, rain and air, for example, are free. Yet there are other gifts that he is not going to casually toss to us across the table. These are extremely valuable things that he wants to give us personally, from his hands directly to ours. God’s working principle is “Ask and it will be given to you. Everyone who asks receives” (Luke 11:9-10). If we do not ask, we do not receive. If we do not receive what God has actually prepared for us, we have no more idea of the grace and gift of God than a fly knows Mozart. Millions of people receive this life that is truly life, but millions do not. This is not primarily a matter for academic or theological debate. Some miss what God has for them by heading off down the wrong road of prejudice or of fashionable ideas, dismissing God as out of date. However, believe me, God does not follow the dictates of fashion. “The Lord knows those who are his” (2 Timothy 2:19). Bigger than ourselves Each of us has different things – food, music, sport, work and entertainment – that give us joy and satisfaction, but these are passing preferences and cannot make us truly happy. Within us something clamours for a sense of true significance, for love that will not let us go, something that makes us bigger and more meaningful than our humble selves. God made the world for us and yet we are greater than the world, which can never entirely fulfil or satisfy us. It is the hand of God that lifts us into the kind of life for which we yearn. Only he gives growth. We are here for his plans and purposes – to do his will. And his will is crystal clear: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). To follow his call is the highest form of life possible on earth. Is that the life you are living? I would like to invite you to deal differently with the Lord in 2009, the year that lies ahead. The world around us in trapped in fear, worries, dissatisfaction and restlessness – apparently more than every before. However, God has prepared real life for you, life in a direct, deep heart relationship with him. He will guide you, use you to pass on his word, to build his kingdom and to follow his call. Decide now to allow God to use you in the new year ahead. Step outside your little world. Ask the Lord to help you to take hold of the life that is truly life and that he intended you to live. Believe me, it is time to live for the Lord and his kingdom!
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19) “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” (1 Timothy 6:12) |
