TYING UP THE YEAR

 

II Timothy 4:6-7
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Paul writing Timothy from a Roman prison.
Paul knows that his days are numbered and that he will never see Timothy again.
The entire book of II Timothy is like Paul's farewell letter to Timothy, encouraging him to be strong in the faith for the days ahead will hard and treacherous.
I think this is the kind of life I want for myself. One that sees life clearly and does not try to sugar coat it as being wonderful but, at the same time, has a realistic view of life.
Life is full of problems and pitfalls....
Snares and strongholds....
Life is messy, but was given to us by God to live.
We are to experience life at every level as we grow and mature in Him.
The message that I get from daily life is that I must find God for every situation I face.
I must seek Him daily for every decision that I must make.
I have to hear Him for direction for every circumstance, good or bad, that may come my way.
I think it is all part of that "Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me" deal we read about in Luke 9:23.

Paul could have written Timothy and told him that he just knew that God was going to free him from his prison. He could have painted an incredible picture of angels coming down...Roman guards falling down as dead men.....doors and locks broken and cast aside....and there striding triumphant from the place of confinement....the Apostle Paul. But Paul knew down inside that this would not happen. He knew that his days were numbered, and that he would give his very life for the cause of Christ and for His church. Why would Paul be so sure and set that this was the way his life would turn out/ Because I think Jesus showed it to him. In Acts 9:16, God is speaking to Ananias, a man that has been picked to take care of Paul after his encounter with Jesus. God says, "For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." In spite of knowing what he would be facing, Paul chose anyway to follow Jesus, all the way to the end of his life.

2022 has been an incredible year.
A year of seeing God's hand (and plan) at work not only in my life, but the lives of many others.
There were many messages shared....many hours of study.
But here on the last day of 2022, I have got to answer a question that God has posed to me.
"Did you learn how to love?"
"Did you learn how to love those that have been marginalized by society and cast aside like garbage."
How do I answer that?
That I am not there yet, but I am moving forward.
It is easy to proclaim having a love for everyone...
Truth be known, it is hard to carry out.

I have found that this year has been a time of learning how to give away.
As the year has passed, I have found that I am quicker to not hold on to things.
I have found that we will always have the poor with us. I can't solve the hunger or poverty problem.
But I can feed and help the next one I meet.
I can clothe and love the next one who asks for help.
I can pray healing down on the one who can't afford to go the doctor.
I can tell them the good news that there is a God who loves them more than they could imagine, and desires to have a relationship with them.
I can be salt....
I can be light....
And that is what I want for 2023 more than anything.
I pray that God will let me sit here at this computer next December 31st, and post about how I have changed even more.

Have a safe New Years, and we will see you here tomorrow at the Greene Street Letters.
God on you...
mb