I came across an interesting expression in one of Arthur
Pink’s books—“Career Christian.” Imagine if someone were to ask you, “What is your occupation?” and you answered “I’m a full-time Christian.”
I don’t know about you, but what with setting my mind on
things above, taking all thoughts captive, renewing
my mind, putting off the old self and
putting on the new, watching over my heart with all diligence, letting the peace of God
rule my heart, walking in love, in unity, in light, and by faith, and don't forget walking worthy, speaking the truth in love, loving my brothers and
sisters from the heart, loving my wife as Christ loves the Church,
and making sure all I do, even eating and drinking, glorifies God, well… I’m fully occupied.
Is this what Jesus meant when he said “occupy until I return?” Yes. And, thankfully, He furnishes us with an infinite supply of grace to assure our progress and success until He does return (2 Cor. 9:8; 2 Peter 1:10).
All of us are faced with two realms of reality. We deal with the visible, the tangible every day. We know that it is real. But there is another world, another realm of reality which vies for our attention. The spiritual, the heavenly, and the eternal!
One day when John was on the Island of Patmos, he had one of these “another world” experiences. Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast. The voice said, "Come up here… (Rev. 4:1).
The door which John saw was the opening between heaven and earth--symbolically, between the visible and invisible realms. Do you see that same open door? Don't you hear that same voice calling you to come up higher? Do you see the throne and He who sits on it?
You can be sure He is not wringing His hands over a world that seems to be spinning out of control. Note that He is not anxiously pacing around the room. He is sitting on the Throne. He is sovereign—He is in control. Stop looking at those things as they appear to be. Ask God to change your perspective around the vision of God on the throne. Set your mind on things above (Col. 3:2).
A recent USA Today article reports that of all electronic communication, social networks, like Facebook, have become the dominant form of communication—surpassing email. And among the 20-somethings, voice-to-voice telephone contact is being rapidly replaced by texting. And not only that, but almost all businesses now have phone robots with whom you will have to interact. Add it all up and you get something no one could have imagined 50 years ago—we do a lot of talking to and through robots.
Don’t you get irritated when you call AT&T with a specific problem, but you have to answer a bunch of questions by a robot before speaking to a live person! And who hasn’t been bothered when you are in the middle of a crisis and you call your friend (husband, wife, etc.) and get their voice mail because their phone is turned off! (You have to talk to their robot—their ‘voice mail’!)
Aren’t you glad we have a personal God—one who speaks to us intimately—through His Holy Spirit, through His Word, through teachers and pastors? Listen to how God spoke to Israel in the light of a ‘missed’ phone call: “I called, but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear.” (Is. 65:12) When the Lord calls you, make sure your phone is turned on. Then the LORD called, "Samuel! Samuel!" And he said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening." (1 Sam. 3:10)
