Romans 12:2It can be so easy for me to have a bad day. Small things start to go wrong – a broken shoelace, a stubbed toe, a spilled drink – and then suddenly I have a very negative outlook on life. At times like these I have allowed the outside world to crowd in on my inside world.
I have allowed the external and material world to push out the spiritual focus I need to have. When that happens I am distracted and pulled away from my focus on God’s love.
But Paul has guidance for us. What should we NOT do? What should we do? What ability would we then have?
In the parable of the sower some of the seed fell on rocky ground and some fell on ground that had thorns. The rocky ground prevented the seed from taking deep root. The seed that fell among thorns were choked out by the weeds. In each case the situations of life kept the seed from growing strong.
In our own lives we can allow the troubles and challenges in life to prevent our faith and love from growing strong. We allow our fears to crowd in on our faith, and we let our worries fill our hearts and minds so that there is no room for God.
But if we will grow deep in our faith we must hold fast to our faith. We must trust completely in the love and grace of God. When the love of God fills us and when we hold to the strength that God gives us for faith we can grow deeper in our relationship with the Lord.
When we keep our faith and the love of God at the center of who we are then we can resist being transformed by the world around us. We can avoid being derailed, changed, tossed around by the things that surround us. Instead we will be transformed by a new spirit of faith and love.
We will grow deeper in our connection to God and in so doing become better Christians. We will be more connected to God and more able to understand the will of God – that which we should be doing in the kingdom of God.
DAILY CHALLENGE: How can your faith keep you from being influenced by the world around you?
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