"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:13)
The other day I watched a very inspiring video produced by a 17 year old boy by the name of Sam Berns. The reason that I was inspired by his lecture on the video was that he suffers with a disease known as Progeria Syndrome. This is a very rare disease which brings on rapid premature aging. Sam was 17 at the time of the video yet he looked like a 90 year old man.
It was his attitude, combined with some things he said about his life, that inspired me to use his lecture as a basis for our spiritual lesson today. As he talked, I was reminded of several Biblical references and for my lesson here, I’ll first give you the things he said about his life and his dreams, and then attach my scriptural thoughts to them.
The first scriptural thought that came to mind as I listened to his words, while at the same time being mindful of his physical infirmities, was something the apostle Paul revealed about himself in 2Cor. 12:7-9. Paul is saying there that he was given a "thorn in the flesh," a physical, perhaps medical problem which isn’t revealed to us, but whatever it may have been, he never let it interfere with his life of preaching the Gospel.
The title of the video, by the way, is "Life According To Sam" and in talking about his life and the things he wanted to accomplish, he gave his philosophy on leading a happy and productive life. He divided his philosophy into four main points. It was these points that brought about the majority of my scriptural tie-ins to his lecture.
Point #1. "Focus on what you can do, not on what you can’t do." It’s my humble opinion that this point expressed by Sam is a major problem with many Christians. For whatever reason, be it health, be it age, be it time or any other excuse, our focus seems to be on the things we CAN’T do rather than those that we CAN. There are lots of things found in the Word of God that I could cite on this point, but I’ll just point some quick, simple ones.
First and foremost, our focus, our attention, should be on Jesus Christ and our getting to where He is - "heaven." (Phil. 3:20) Jesus gave us a great example of how we are to "do" things, of where our focus should be, when He told us where His focus is: "...for I do always those things that please Him." (John 8:29) Whatever it is, and to what extent we’re able to do it, our focus should be on doing the things that please God. (I refer you to 1Cor. 10:13)
As to doing things for our fellow man, that can be wrapped up in what Jesus said in Matt. 7:12, sometimes referred to as the "Golden Rule": "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them..." (ESV) Whatever our limited abilities might be, we can always do good. "As we therefore have opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Gal. 6:10) My last "focus" thought is the words of Paul to Timothy directing his focus to "godly edifying which is in faith..." (1Tim. 4:1)
Point #2: "Surround yourself with positive people. People who encourage and inspire you to do your best. High quality people." The Bible provides us with many, many examples of both who we should associate with and who we shouldn’t. Proverbs 13:20 says that we’ll be "wise" if we associate with "the wise" but we’ll be "foolish" if we run with "fools." Proverbs also tells us that we should "walk in the way of good men and keep the paths of the righteous." (2:20) As far as our associations, that’s about as nut-shelly as it gets.
In the realm of who NOT to associate with we can look at Psa. 1:1 where we find that we’re "blessed" when we avoid the "counsel of the ungodly" and we don’t "stand in the way of sinners nor sit with the scornful." Solomon tells us that we shouldn’t "desire" to be with "evil men." (Prov. 24:1) 1Cor. 5:11 and 2Cor. 6:14 gives us some specific examples of the type of people we should not be associated with and Eph. 5:11 sort of wraps it with the admonition to "...have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness..." Here’s some other passages pertinent to this point: Prov. 28:7 and 2Cor. 6:17.
Point #3: "Keep moving forward. Don’t look backward for very long. Have something to look forward to and strive for. It’s a state of mind and helps you to get through trying times."
I see this point as being closely related to the first point of having a focus. How many Bible passages could we come up with that teach this very principle? Answer: many, but time and space here only allow for a few.
Not only do we "focus" on what’s ahead, we have to "keep moving" in that direction. One of the lessons learned in any driving school is, that you tend to steer in the direction to which you’re looking. The one direction a Christian should always take is forward. We look forward and we move forward.
Why? Because that’s where the "prize" is. As Paul said in Phil. 3:13-14 "...I focus on this one thing; forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Let me remind you of two more Bible passages fitting to this point. One, the words of Jesus in Luke 9:62 "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God." Lastly and succinctly: "Remember Lot’s wife." (Luke 17:32)
Point #4: "Never miss a party if you can help it." I’m going to apply the principle of this point to the thought that, as Christians, we should never neglect the occasion or opportunity to gather together as the family of God. Don’t you see this as also fitting point #2, the "surrounding ourselves with positive people?" I ask you, who could be more positive and encouraging to us than those who are striving for the same goal that we are?
The oft-cited passage from Heb. 10:25 about "Not forsaking the assembly of ourselves...." comes to the front of my mind here regarding this fourth point. If you research the term "forsake" or "forsaking" you’ll find that it means like "let it be" or to "leave alone." That simply infers a willful disregarding of gathering with fellow Christians. Maybe we could say a conscious effort to not participate.
What’s so bad about "forsaking the assembly" (missing the party) is that we miss all the benefits found at these occasions. We’re not available to "provoke" each other "unto love and to good works." (Vs. 24) We don’t get the benefits found in a gathering of "the saints" and our fellow members of "God’s household." We don’t get "encouraged" nor do we "encourage" others. To borrow the words of James, "brethren, these things ought not to be so." (James 3:10)
There are many scriptures that could be used that fit the principles of the philosophy expressed by Sam Berns in his video of how he dealt with his affliction. I just wanted to point out that God provided us with those principles long before Sam adopted them. It was inspirational to see and hear him talk about his life and dreams on the video. Sadly, his life and his dreams came to an end on January 10th of this year, 2014.
Ron Covey
No comments:
Post a Comment