Live your best life…Later

“God wants to prosper you and make you victorious in all you undertake.  He wants your life to be successful in every area.  You are about to rise to new pinnacles, in your job, in your marriage, in your family and relationships.  Your dreams are going to become reality.  Your life is one of victory and prosperity. Just believe, get your thinking right and start expecting good things — the rest is sure to follow”

I’m just about ready for tele-evangelist school.  All I need is for you to partner with me.  For your small donation…

OK OK, don’t worry, all tongue in cheek.  I promise, no cynical rants about prosperity teachings–you know all this stuff by now!

As a write I am aware that many of you are facing dire situations.  Some have all but lost your business/job and what you have laboured for over the past decade.  Others are facing the very end of the line financially.  For some of you broken relationships or the loss of someone very dear to you has caused much heartache.  Or maybe worry and stress are just taking their toll.

I do believe God wants to fill you with hope today.  He is good, He will look after you and your family.  He will never leave you or forsake you and nothing can separate you from His love.  He does have amazing plans for you, plans that no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor mind understood.  But we cannot measure His plans by Western values, even if we dress them up, baptise them, sanctify them and try to make them fit with the message of the gospel. Otherwise we start expecting the life of a disciple to be primarily blessed in the way that the world understands, with the added bonus of not going to hell, when this, our “best” life, ends.  As Dwight Edwards writes, we could easily start seeking the benefits of having God over the glory of knowing Him.

Yes, I see the hypocrimeter on my desk glowing red as I type this on my shiny Macbook Pro from our comfortable home, but I believe that mine is not a lone voice.  The chorus I am joining is not fuelled by the economic chaos the world finds itself in, but is composed by the Spirit, built upon the voice of the Conductor two thousand years ago and sustained by the beautiful harmonies of the saints, past and present.

The comfort we have is a Person, far greater than comforts we seek.  The abundance we have is far richer than material wealth.  Our joy is lasting, not temporary happiness.  Our hope does not rest on things that can be taken away from us, but on Him, our real treasure, who is by our side through every challenge.  As we seek His kingdom, all the other stuff is added, because He knows what we need.  This is good news!

And then our chief calling is to know Him, through whom we bring this very good news to the poor, the broken-hearted, the captives and those who mourn.

I believe the message you need to hear today is one of how richly God is undertaking for you.  Not a message of what you lack, but of how much you have and how much more awaits you.  I cannot shake the picture of us expecting a new Ford Escort when the bridge of the Starship Enterprise has been prepared for us.  We are citizens of a new Kingdom.  We are engaged right now, and are longing for the day that we will be married.  So much excitement is generated by the knowledge of the wedding feast that awaits.

But get this:  Our best life, the life of the Spirit, the life that is eternal, began on the day He washed away all our sin and stain, filling our hearts with Himself.  For now we are limited by this earthly body and all the troubles of a world in turmoil, but soon all our tears will be gently wiped away, never to return.

You may not be aware of it amidst all the challenges of today, but He is present with you as you read, the One who knows every password to the doors of your heart. As you seek Him first,  the rest will be added.  Promise.

Glory to Him

WS