I have a dear friend that reached the top ...before he even reached his mid-forties. That's doing very well.
Some would say, "That's not fair ...he shouldn't be able to reach it all at such a young age. Some people have to work a lifetime to achieve that."
My dear friend, Charles Walter, reached the top ...entering eternal life in November of 2008, before his mid-forties. Some would say it was the end of his life, but that is not accurate.
Our existence continues ...it is not a termination of our existence when we die, it's an end to our term of decision-making in reference to the direction we are going. We will then either experience eternal death, or eternal life. And the life we strive for, either matches up with what God requires, or it doesn't.
What God requires, is not for the life we live to match His standard ...but that we humbly admit our failures, with grateful adoration for the sending of His Son. How is it that we do glorify Him?
Let me use the example of my own dad and mom, who would never claim they were perfect ...that is not where I'm going with this analogy. But, I am to honor my parents. How am I to do that?
I could say my parents are push-overs. I could say they are old-fashioned fuddy-duddies. I could say they are hard and intolerant. I could say they like to laugh at and poke fun at people. I could say they are against marriage. I could say they are in debt. And I could say they are ashamed of their children.
I could say some true things that are not honoring, but none of the statements above are true ...and I think highly of my parents, and they've made it abundantly clear that they think well of me. If I got around a group of people who bragged about how they don't let their parents boss them, and that their parents are weak and stupid ...I would not keep the company of those people long. I would probably say that I'm sorry they have such ill feelings toward their parents. And if I knew their parents ...I'd admit that I don't know everything about their parents, but that I did not get the same impression.
With God, I do feel I know Him as well as anyone else can know Him ...and there is nothing true that is dishonoring. If I say anything about Him that is inaccurate ...it speaks of my lack of understanding of who He is. And I will not join those who would represent Him for who He is not.
A person can do more than dishonor God by their actions ...we do that often enough. But, worse even than that, I believe would be to misrepresent what God would have us do. The way we glorify God, is by giving a correct description of the character of God. If we don't correctly represent to others who God is, then we are not attempting to follow Him. And if we don't make an honest attempt to follow Him, then where do we expect to be led?
In some of the wholesome TV shows my parents allowed me to watch while I was growing up ...and basically that was what mostly was on TV, there were many occasions that they'd show problematic behavior. The difference was, they did not glorify the problematic behavior ...but would usually show us a lesson from it. Many times there would be a rich kid who would get into all sorts of trouble. But they didn't show it to be the problem of being rich, as usually the parent became rich by the sweat of their brow. It was more that, often the condition of becoming rich, involves increased responsibility and invested time ...which sadly, can take away from needed time in raising children. My point is, the kid would often get into trouble ...and not take seriously the other people's expectations. The kid would often say, "My dad is an important man, and he'll take care of all this!"
Sadly, we often look at God the same way. We acknowledge that Jesus came to save us ...and we don't concern ourselves with much, because we aren't worried, "He's got us covered!"
Our main focus should be whether we are glorying God, and attempting to please Him. This is the way my friend Charles lived. When someone was being really rude and unkind to Him, he told them, "I believe in Jesus, who doesn't look at me the way you look at me ...and His love is so great, that I can forgive you for the way you are treating me, and also lovingly pray for you." That's not the exact quote, but the gist of it. And I miss having my friend Charles around. But, I'm glad he is in the place where there are joyous reunions.
We need to look at everyone with the love that God would have us show ...in hopes that they will accept God's love. That is important! It is also important that we look to God the way He would want us to look at Him ...for who He is, glorifying truth, and His Word.
I don't want to be like the kid who knows he is doing wrong, and thinks it's not a big issue ...because "I'm covered!" I want to act like a "King's kid"...and help make it clear that His Kingdom is not of the nature of what our world often strives for.
I would rather have a mote in my eye than a log, but if there is a moat surrounding the castle, I'd prefer to have the log. Sometimes what doesn't float with others, may at least enable us to keep our head above water long enough to envision which direction we want to go. And there is more than a speck of truth to that. Sometimes it takes a lot to bother us before we decide to remove it. We just have to be sure that what is causing the irritation is what pricks our conscience, and then turn to the Light to remove it ...not turn off the Light.
Speaking of old-fashioned ...God provides us with an option similar to the first light switches. It's either off, or on ...there is no dimmer switch. Only the truth gets dimmer ...if we tamper with it, and try to find something in between.
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