Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. KJV
Acts 20:24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. NIV
I read this verse this morning in my devotions. Here we see it in two different translations. I like aspects of each. If I could combine the two translations it would read like this:
"But none of these things (afflictions and bonds) move me, and I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I finish my course with joy, and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--to testify the gospel of God's grace."
This has so much meaning for me. Paul had physical afflictions and he was imprisoned. Those were his afflictions and bonds. I have physical afflictions and bonds too. My physical afflictions in many ways are also bonds in that I can not do all the things I used to do without pain. However, I want to say with Paul, "...none of these things move me..." These things will not move me away from the grace of God, they will not move me away from His love and care, they will not move me away from my faith in Him. The only thing that matters is that I am able to finish the course God has set out before me with joy and that I complete the task that Jesus has given me to testify of the gospel of God's grace.
What is my course? My particular course is going to be different than what your course may be. My course includes obstacles, and mountains. Yours may not. The course laid out for me at this season of life is that of being a wife, mom, homemaker and learning to reinvent myself with each new physical challenge that comes my way. Our courses may change from one season of life to the next. However, the goal is to finish the course with joy and to complete the task of reflecting God's grace in your life to others no matter how difficult your course is.
So how does this work out practically? In my life, I see the application being that in my course of being a homemaker for instance, I need to do those duties to best of my ability in such a way that God's grace shines through. This is convicting. When people come to my house what do they see? Is it clutter and chaos or orderliness? What would be the best reflection of God's grace? This is an area that I struggle with constantly. Oh, I can come up with excuses...my physical limitations get in the way, but this is an area where I need to train my children to help out and prepare them for life on their own. So it overlaps into the course of being mom too. You see, my physical limitations actually are helping me to be a better mom. This is just one example of how this might work out in a practical way. You can think about the course you are on and how it might work out in a practical way in your life.
Completing the task is one area I have great difficulty with. I am a distracted person by nature. I flit from one task to another, never finishing what I started. While this verse is talking about completing the task of testifying to the grace of God, I also see it as a challenge for me in my daily activities. Sticking to the task until I see it through to completion, no matter how long it takes and how many rest breaks I have to take, will testify to the grace of God in my life as He gives me the strength to do it. I can't do it on my own strength, but with His strength I can. And when I am able to stick it out, trusting in God's grace to do it, others will be encouraged in their trials to keep going.
I don't know about you, but this has really given me a kick start to my day. With God's grace I want to keep this verse before me to spur me on! I'd love to hear your comments and ideas on this!
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