A few mornings ago, less than a minute after leaving my house, I got stuck behind a huge truck weighed down by a full load. At times, it was going 40 km below the speed limit as it tried to navigate the ups, downs and turns in the road...and it just happened to be on the very same route that I was on. In other words, a drive that should have taken me 10 minutes, took me almost 20. If you had been sitting in the passenger seat of my car, you probably would have heard a few sighs, a couple of groans and several "You've got to be kidding me" type of phrases. I truly was trying to be patient...but it just felt like he was going unreasonably slow and delaying my own trip in the process.
As I looked back on that ride, I realized that the way I was treating the truck is the way I can also be tempted to treat fellow believers.
If we are in Christ, each one of us is being transformed into His likeness. We are being sanctified...but we are not all being sanctified the same way at the same pace. Yes, God has ordained good works for us to do and God will complete the work He has started in us...but that in no way implies we are cookie cutter molds of one another, achieving certain fruit at certain times and growing in knowledge and wisdom at the same rate as our fellow brother or sister in Christ. In fact, the Bible is clear that even the amount of fruit is different for each believer...some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown (Matthew 13:8).
I know this to be true...but I often forget it when it comes to those around me who belong to the Lord. Instead of rejoicing at their forward progress, instead of looking for ways that I see Jesus in them... I'm prone to see the one thing they are "not" doing or the one thing they "should" be doing and I'm frustrated by the slowness of it. I want a 50 km pace for them when 10 km seems to be where they are at.
Of course, it all brings me back around to that ol' comparison issue, right?! What is my "speed standard"? If my eyes are truly on Christ...I am quick to realize that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that, apart from Him even my "good deeds are as filthy rags". The standard of "speed" is perfection...and my own speed (empowered by the Holy Spirit) ) still looks more like a snail's pace in comparison. YET...He loves me. He reached down and awakened my heart, drew me to Himself and adopted me as His daughter. He has made me a partaker of His glory, and through me spread the aroma of His knowledge everywhere. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He does not treat me as my sins deserve but even rejoices over me with singing. This is love. This is my God. This should be the lens through which I view others, too!
As I look back on my "truck experience", I've begun to realize I was giving it a bum rap. After all, the truck was running. The truck was moving. The truck was completing the route it was on. It was fulfilling the purpose to which it had been designed. Why did I expect more from it than that? And why did I waste those 20 minutes in sighs and groans when I could have been rejoicing in the sun that was shining, the fresh air blowing through the half cracked windows, and praising the Creator of it all, who does all things perfectly...ordaining every moment of each day...including my route behind a fully loaded truck.
I'm hopeful this lesson sticks...and maybe it might encourage you, too! :)
As I looked back on that ride, I realized that the way I was treating the truck is the way I can also be tempted to treat fellow believers.
If we are in Christ, each one of us is being transformed into His likeness. We are being sanctified...but we are not all being sanctified the same way at the same pace. Yes, God has ordained good works for us to do and God will complete the work He has started in us...but that in no way implies we are cookie cutter molds of one another, achieving certain fruit at certain times and growing in knowledge and wisdom at the same rate as our fellow brother or sister in Christ. In fact, the Bible is clear that even the amount of fruit is different for each believer...some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown (Matthew 13:8).
I know this to be true...but I often forget it when it comes to those around me who belong to the Lord. Instead of rejoicing at their forward progress, instead of looking for ways that I see Jesus in them... I'm prone to see the one thing they are "not" doing or the one thing they "should" be doing and I'm frustrated by the slowness of it. I want a 50 km pace for them when 10 km seems to be where they are at.
Of course, it all brings me back around to that ol' comparison issue, right?! What is my "speed standard"? If my eyes are truly on Christ...I am quick to realize that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that, apart from Him even my "good deeds are as filthy rags". The standard of "speed" is perfection...and my own speed (empowered by the Holy Spirit) ) still looks more like a snail's pace in comparison. YET...He loves me. He reached down and awakened my heart, drew me to Himself and adopted me as His daughter. He has made me a partaker of His glory, and through me spread the aroma of His knowledge everywhere. He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He does not treat me as my sins deserve but even rejoices over me with singing. This is love. This is my God. This should be the lens through which I view others, too!
As I look back on my "truck experience", I've begun to realize I was giving it a bum rap. After all, the truck was running. The truck was moving. The truck was completing the route it was on. It was fulfilling the purpose to which it had been designed. Why did I expect more from it than that? And why did I waste those 20 minutes in sighs and groans when I could have been rejoicing in the sun that was shining, the fresh air blowing through the half cracked windows, and praising the Creator of it all, who does all things perfectly...ordaining every moment of each day...including my route behind a fully loaded truck.
I'm hopeful this lesson sticks...and maybe it might encourage you, too! :)
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