Okay, it's July. That makes it summer both scientifically and culturally, especially down here in Georgia. It's hot. But it doesn't seem like summer to me.
Have you ever had that situation? You know, where there is something that is absolutely true, but does not "feel true." I know it is summer, but I do not have the summer feeling. I feel like children are still in school and that summer is still coming.
Now, this is probably (on a personal level) for lots of reasons. My daughter is in college over the summer and my son is working, so they are gone a lot like being in school. My days have not changed for the summer. I have no vacation this year. There is nothing daily in my life that seems like summer. So, each day, I have to remember that it is summer.
But the truth is not dependent on how I feel. I may feel like children are still in school, but they aren't. I may not be getting a vacation this year, but lots of other people are taking vacations. It is summer and there is nothing I can do about it or about my feelings.
This is very similar to other things in our lives. We often live in the gap between what is true and what we feel to be true. We sometimes do not feel very much like we are married, but we are still married. We do not like what the doctor recommends that we do, for ourselves or our children, but we had better do it. Our feelings do not match reality.
It is true in so many other things. In visiting churches, I frequently see people who are convinced that they are "doing church right" and cannot figure out why no one is coming, but even a moment in their church lets you know they are wrong.
In preaching, I often come across people who feel very strongly about something that is entirely wrong, but it is important to them and they will not let it go. I may love singing old hymns, but not everyone shares that love. I may love singing praise choruses, but have to realize not everyone else loves them. I may love the "old ways" we do things, but must understand that the only real truth is God's truth. God's churches today are almost nothing like His churches of 1000 years ago. Who knows what we shall be 100 years from today?
Preachers, churches, and Christians must learn to set aside their feelings and seek truth. In our lives, in our homes, in our churches, we must learn to live with what really is, not what we think may be.
Have you ever had that situation? You know, where there is something that is absolutely true, but does not "feel true." I know it is summer, but I do not have the summer feeling. I feel like children are still in school and that summer is still coming.
Now, this is probably (on a personal level) for lots of reasons. My daughter is in college over the summer and my son is working, so they are gone a lot like being in school. My days have not changed for the summer. I have no vacation this year. There is nothing daily in my life that seems like summer. So, each day, I have to remember that it is summer.
But the truth is not dependent on how I feel. I may feel like children are still in school, but they aren't. I may not be getting a vacation this year, but lots of other people are taking vacations. It is summer and there is nothing I can do about it or about my feelings.
This is very similar to other things in our lives. We often live in the gap between what is true and what we feel to be true. We sometimes do not feel very much like we are married, but we are still married. We do not like what the doctor recommends that we do, for ourselves or our children, but we had better do it. Our feelings do not match reality.
It is true in so many other things. In visiting churches, I frequently see people who are convinced that they are "doing church right" and cannot figure out why no one is coming, but even a moment in their church lets you know they are wrong.
In preaching, I often come across people who feel very strongly about something that is entirely wrong, but it is important to them and they will not let it go. I may love singing old hymns, but not everyone shares that love. I may love singing praise choruses, but have to realize not everyone else loves them. I may love the "old ways" we do things, but must understand that the only real truth is God's truth. God's churches today are almost nothing like His churches of 1000 years ago. Who knows what we shall be 100 years from today?
Preachers, churches, and Christians must learn to set aside their feelings and seek truth. In our lives, in our homes, in our churches, we must learn to live with what really is, not what we think may be.