I've been singing "Crown Him with Many Crowns" over and over again in my head the last few days. This awareness that in order for us to 'crown Him', we must first receive the crown. That all glory and honor and power are His, yet there is also the reality that in order for Jesus to receive His full reward; we must obtain glory and honor and power so that we can 'crown' Him with those acquisitions.
It's not for us to find identity in the things of this world, but it is for us to steward them all- and in abundance- in a way that honors His will and extends His kingdom. We are called 'kings and priests' as new creations. Royalty and Ministers to the Most High. It is in these job descriptions that we have the duty to give the King of Kings what we have received in our own right because of the expectation that we would receive to give back to Him. Think about this depiction with Abraham and Isaac. The Lord delivers on His promises only to ensure that we don't worship the breakthrough, but gladly lay it back down at His feet; crowning Him with the very things that are precious to us.
My testimonies are precious to me. They aren't just stories, they are active and living moments in my life that glorify Jesus and secure who I am in Him. Some of these testimonies become very intimate moments between God and I that He doesn't even expect me to share. They are 'pondered moments' as Mary had. The private breakthroughs and milestones in my personal relationship with God as He reveals Himself to me. Interestingly enough, I have found that with time some of these 'pondered moments' become 'public release' because God is patient with my heart and process. He waits until I am ready (at least sometimes) to release His increase through a personal battle so that He is on display rather than the circumstances He conquers.
In this, I'm continually learning what it is to not 'weary from doing good'. Oftentimes in our Christian life, we give ourselves an expectation of what 'doing good' looks like that is not heaven's expectation. In the previous example, I learned to be aware of God's gentleness with me in my own process rather than be constantly talking about my private victories. I learned that some church's or Christian circles' expectation of transparency and willingness to go deep were actually unwise and unkind to people in process. Doing good didn't and doesn't look like carelessly sharing about all aspects of my relationship with God. Doing good looked and looks a lot more like meeting people exactly where they're at and being Jesus more often than sharing about Him. Sharing naturally happens when it comes out of who you are instead of it being something you force to get a certain outcome. People know this. We are told to be prepared to give the reason for which we hope. That would infer that we respond rather than initiate....
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
We're not always in a season of harvest. WE ARE NOT ALWAYS IN A SEASON OF HARVEST. I feel the Lord so heavy on this. Doing good is NOT always relegated to preaching or sharing the Gospel. Doing good looks like what He is doing. He is patient, kind and long-suffering....shouldn't we be? Doing good is dynamic and vast in opportunity. Doing good, for me, looks like working on me with God and translating what I learn and grow in to an opportunity for the world around me to glean from. I had to throw out my end-games for His and His look like "My kingdom come, My will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." That's a lot of good to be displayed in a lot of ways. What a great comfort to know that if it isn't good it isn't finished (Romans 8:28). We need not give up on the world around us or the people in it knowing that it is GOD that brings everything to completion. It's just our choice to what extent we choose to co-labor with Him in the process. You can give up; so don't.
Don't stop smiling at people
Don't stop praying
Don't stop going to church
Don't stop hugging your children
Don't stop saying 'I love you'
Don't stop saying 'I'm sorry'
Don't stop forgiving
Don't stop serving your community
Don't stop dreaming
Don't stop believing
Don't stop expecting
Don't stop hoping
Don't stop pursing Jesus
Just keep going, keep running, keep moving forward...
Don't stop.
God IS working. God IS good. And we WILL see the harvest in DUE time. It is in each of our decisions not to grow weary, not to give up that in our weakness; He is made strong. He is put on display and faith and hope is increased in response. We have such an amazing opportunity to bear one another's burdens in this way by remaining steadfast and doing good as He directs. Doing good, His way, is never at your expense. The price has already been paid in full.
Be aware in this segment of Paul's letter that in everything he has addressed, corrected and suggested; through this entire process the expectation is that we would all be good to one another. Through it all. We have the choice to keep doing good or to justify giving up. There's plenty of reasons not to do good if you are expecting something in return. Yet, Jesus paid it all. He is the only reason we have relationship with God for eternity. He is the only reason there is nothing left to fear. And if you believe that, then there is no reason to expect anything from your good deeds other than the ability to demonstrate Christ to a world He desperately seeks to reconcile unto Himself.
Amen
"Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we can ask or imagine according to the power at work within us" Ephesians 3:20-21
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