Christian Living

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‘But this I say brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, and those who use this world as not misusing it. For the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be without care.



I Corinthians 7:29:32





Welcome to this edition of The Awakening Call.



This week I share a word on what, on the surface might appear to address a very popular theme- worry. But while the admonition in the opening scripture encompasses worry, its core theme is concern or setting our affections and thoughts on what we have or do not have.



Unmarried and celibate himself, Apostle Paul advises the yet to be married and the widows to remain unmarried given what he termed – the present distress. His reason?



He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord – how he may

please the Lord. But he (or she) who is married cares about the

things of the world – how he may please his wife (or husband)





In other words, he who is unattached has the capacity for whole hearted worship of God but he who is attached must of necessity share his capacity to care for God with care for the things he is attached to.



God commands us to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind – Deuteronomy 6:5. But how can we love Him with our all if we give part of our heart, mind and soul to the care of other things. Simple logic will conclude that a quantity cannot be whole if part of it – no matter how minute, is taken up or occupied by something else.



Concern for life and our responsibilities is legitimate. However, I believe that pre-occupation with or thoughtfulness for these things falls into the category of what the bible defines as expedient but not permissible. It is expedient that we should be concerned about our jobs, our spouses, our careers, our health, ministry, calling, children, etc. These things by their very nature are so fundamental to life and living that concern for them is the norm and not the exception. But, as expedient as our concern for them might be, it is not permissible as Christians that we be pre-occupied with them. For if we give, any part of our hearts and deep longing to care for these things, they will make it impossible to obey God’s commandment to love Him wholeheartedly.



The question then is how can we handle life and its troubles responsibly and still be able to obey Deuteronomy 6:5?



One option is to learn to handle life and its challenges in a way that these issues do not pre-occupy our thoughts.



A lot of times, scripture exhorts us to let i.e. to allow. For example in James 1:4, we are asked to let patience have her perfect work. Hebrews 10, verses 22, 23 and 24 each start with the words ‘let us’.



I believe that living without care is one of those things that will not happen except we let it. It requires an intelligent and deliberate effort to steer our minds and hearts away from dwelling on matters that demand our attention beyond the minimum thought level required to apply wisdom and faith.



In this I acknowledge that it is not possible to resolve life’s issues without giving it some thought. But we must be conscious not to let our hearts be overwhelmed with concern for a matter beyond what is reasonably required to attend responsibly to it.



It also requires that we live in the consciousness that all that is our concern – whether in plenty or in need, whether sick or in health, whether employed or out of job, whether celebrated or despised, whether housed or homeless, whether in tears or in laughter- all are temporal and will someday, soon pass away. Why then must we spend ourselves for that which does not endure?



One of the strategies to living without care is to activate and sustain our hearts’ commitment to God by pre-occupying ourselves with seeking His kingdom - Matthew 6:33.



When we do this, we shift the focus of our thoughts from the cares of this life to the cares of the kingdom. It will take a fight to keep the cares of this world at bay, and that is why I stated that it is something we must let happen. If we try it, we will find that our obedience to Matthew 6:33 will yield the fruit of God’s faithfulness in adding to us the things we had hitherto thought was our responsibility - a house to live, food to eat, cloth to wear, needs Jesus acknowledged only the Gentiles worry over.



Most fathers naturally want their children to do and accomplish more than they did. So does God. Jesus said – greater works than these (His works) would we do. Many times, as I walk down the streets I ask myself whether what I see would not be different if it was Jesus walking down it. Can you imagine what your community- church, work; family would be if Jesus was physically there?



The truth is – He is there – in all these places. But the effect of His presence is not as it ought to be. I believe one of the reasons for this is that we, by our choice lifestyle and pre-occupation with the things of this world have cramped Him out.



Jesus came and walked the earth as man. So, here was a man, who lived



- ‘going about doing good – healing the sick and delivering all those who were possessed of demons’



Can you compare this with those of us whose close attempt at walking as He did is to go to church and programs not seeking the kingdom but jobs, healing, wealth, wife or husband? There is nothing wrong in seeking these things, provided that our longing for God supersedes our longing for His miracles.



- Though owning all things and able to demand a home from any of the wealthy who benefited from His anointing, nevertheless acknowledge that though foxes have holes and birds have nests, yet He had no place to lay His head.



- Conscious that the will of God would require that He endures shame and affliction, yet affirmed time and time again that His meat was to do the will of God who sent Him.



I do not believe that we can do as much or more than He did except we are willing to let go of the care of this world as He did. When we do this, God’s kingdom and not our circumstances determine what we do.



I end this piece by re-emphasising what I believe to be the operative word – let – allow, permit. There would be a fight to establish a lifestyle that puts God first, but His grace is more than sufficient. Our desired spoil from that battle must be our arrival at that place where our lives boldly declare that though we are in this world, we are not of this world.



I pray that God, who never leaves nor forsakes us, will give us all the wisdom, the strategy, the strength, the grace to live life to its fullest and yet be and remain indifferent to the things of this world.



Shalom!





Chi Onwuchekwa







(c) The Awakening Call Ministry 2011

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