Chasing the ideal

Day 6 Luke 4:1-13, Chasing the Ideal, Phil. 3:13, 14; 1 Thess. 5:18

Engeti an oasis in the Wilderness

Wayne Styles writes, “That’s important to remember as we follow God’s plan for our lives. Even in the midst of His will for us, there will be snakes. Temptation will come. Finding the ideal doesn’t mean finding utopia. Our career won’t make life all we want it to be. Neither will a husband, or a family, or a house, or a church. That’s the lie of the devil echoing from Eden.
That’s the futility of chasing the ideal.”

It seems in many ways I have been chasing some kind of life that is always ahead of me. Goal setting and reaching goals are a part of life. When I competed I would work on weaknesses for that when I played I played better. When I worked with kids at camp, church or school I worked on skills that helped the kids better. I worked on my house to improve the quality of life in the house. There was always something to do. All these things are worthy, but tasks to be ideal I have discovered we never obtain perfection. In fact in the middle of all that there are always problems.

We can seek a utopia and things like winning the lottery, inheriting a fortune. I actually don’t know about an inheritance. But at 60 these wishes come up empty. In the TV show Bluebloods the grandfather and father of the Reagan clan said, “The hardest day at work was easier than being a parent of a teenager.” Parenting is hard work and it doesn’t end when the child is 20.

Temptation doesn’t end after we trust Christ or put Him in the center of our lives. In many ways temptations become more complicated. I have been married 36 years and had many wonderful moments and a good life. But there are temptations and trials that like my old house come at the least convenient times. Jesus was in the wilderness for the purpose facing the devil. He would return to attack again at an opportune time. In Jesus’ ministry we see hundreds of times when He was interrupted, problems hit Him from all sides, disciples often didn’t get His teaching, He was attacked by Biblical experts, and Demons came from everywhere. Far from ideal settings Jesus responds in balance and brilliant ways. 

All of which brings us back to where we are. Paul said in Philippians 3, “¹³ Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Utopias won’t come in this life time. We learn that from the very rich and the very poor. But it is healthy to move to the goal of pleasing the Lord in the things of our life. Deal with each difficulty, setback, pest, trial, and temptation one at a time. 1 Thessalonians 5: ^{18 “}in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I take we are to live in the moment with the confidence of how the Lord has worked in our life He will continue to do so.

When a kid has a problem at school I am thankful I am there with my experience and skill to help. That child is the reason I have a job. In a utopia I don’t have a job. As I have worked in the class I see the difference, the class is more enjoyable, kids are learning better, and there is a thanks for my being there. Tomorrow may bring a problem but then that gives me something to do. Keep walking!
Faith is depending on Him through the experience of our life – Live the moment of it.

From an upcoming book Devotions for a Walker by Bill Reeves