“Lifeshapes” – 5

 

 
     The subject of balance also has to do with our next shape which is the Triangle. The triangle represents “Relationships”…We have three areas of relationships that also must be in balance. If they are not, we will weebble..waabble through life like a tire out of balance, and we will wear out much too soon. The three areas are “up”-“in”- and “out”.
    Jesus lived out his life in these three areas of relationship. It begins with our “Up” relationship with God.  This was the source of the fruitfulness of his ministry and mission…his relationship with the Father. Jesus prayed regularly. You will find that He prayed in the early morning. Before he went about healing and doing miracles, he spent time in prayer – communing with the Father. He had such an intimacy with God the Father that the disciples took notice and asked “Lord, teach us to pray”. Jesus taught them about how important this relationship was when he said “I am the vine and you are the branches. If you abide in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit…Apart from me, you can do nothing.” We need His love, we need His wisdom and we need His power, and the only way we can consistently have these in our lives is by abiding…through a daily – consistent – relationship of remaining in the vine. Without the most important “up” relationship on the triangle, we can do nothing; we will accomplish nothing; nothing of eternal value, nothing of eternal worth, nothing with eternal reward.
    Along with the “Up” relationship with His Father, Jesus also had an “In” relationship. By that I mean he invited others into his life to join him in his journey. He selected twelve specifically, so he might be with them, spend time with them, and form strong relationships with them. He shared from within himself – to those closest to him – not only what he believed, but what he knew to be true.
    You could say that our “In” relationships includes our circle of “friends” with whom we can share life. This was not just a “seminary” setting where Jesus was the teacher, and they were the students…it was more than that. A part of his “In” group were Peter, James, and John. They were the closest of his friends. They were the ones he spent most of his time with. It was Peter, James and John, who always went a little further in the garden…a little higher up the mountain. We all need close friends and we all need “best” friends. They are the ones we let “in” to our lives, and with whom we “do” life together. The old saying that “if you want a friend you must be a friend” certainly holds true here. We become closest to those with whom we spend time with. (May or may not be a spouse.)
    Jesus also had an “Out” relationship. He never lost sight of His Father’s vision to reach out to a lost and dying world. He walked among the crowds teaching; healing; feeding; comforting; and reconciling. He didn’t wait for them to come to him; he went to them and ministered at their point of need.
    We were created as three-dimensional beings. Our spirit desires to have a relationship with the one who created us. The spirit desires not to be alone, but to have intimate or close relationships with others. The spirit also has a desire to serve…to minister…to help those who need help; it’s called “compassion”. If we have the spirit of Christ “In” us, we have a spirit that desires all three areas of relationship. When one dimension is missing or suppressed, the others do not work as they should, and we are once again - “out of balance” relationally. The triangle is all about understanding life, and sharing life with others.

“Lifeshapes” – 4

 

    Let’s look at our second shape, which is a semi-circle. The shape of the Semi-circle will represent “Balance” in our lives.  Think of the semi-circle as being the shape that a pendulum makes as it swings back and forth – as in a clock. On one side of the semi-circle we will put the word “Work”, and on the other side we will put the word “Rest”.

    God designed us to be productive and reproductive. The problem is that we build our identities around our activities; we are known for and recognized for what we do. We have become human “doings” rather than human “beings”. We need a biblical frame-work with a rhythm of life that allows fruitfulness and productivity in balance with rest. When that balance is missing or one sided, it produces “stress”! We can neither be workaholics nor can we be absolutely lazy…both produce stress, and neither will produce the abundant life God desires for us. I must also add that rest does not mean inactivity.  It means “you shall rest from your work.”

     Let me ask this question – “Do you think we should rest from our work…or work from our rest?” In other words, Do we work all week and rest on Sunday? Or, do we rest on Sunday in order to work all week?  If we think we have a balance in life, why do we schedule meetings, and things we have to DO on our calendar? When was the last time you literally looked at your calendar and scheduled REST?  We can see this balance of rest/work in nature. It’s after the winter of rest that all the activity, production and fruitfulness takes place!
    Let’s take a look at John 15:1-8 …Think about a vine or an apple tree. Does it always bear fruit? No There is a time of rest; growing; budding; fruit bearing; pruning; and resting…a balance; and all the while the branch abides in the vine…Do I have to repeat that?
    We don’t like “pruning”. Pruning is not the fun part of life…but, it is a necessary part of life. You seldom see church banners displaying “40 Days of Pruning” or a sermon series about “Pruning Yourself to A Better Life”… Left to its own, the branch would just continue to grow, increasing in size, but decreasing in strength, endurance, and health until it became unfruitful or unproductive.  Sometimes in our churches we need times of pruning, as well as times of rest and abiding, all of which are a part of “balance”, before activities and fruitfulness can happen. We should always remember that there is much grace and growth to be found in every time and stage of life…so don’t fight it, learn that there is “balance” in life and enjoy it! This is why the Apostle Paul was able to say: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances”…He also said that he had “learned to be content in all circumstances”. Whether times of pruning or times of fruitfulness, we can always be in balance, and when we are in balance, there is a lot less stress.
    Remember, there should be balance in all areas of our lives. If we spend all our time with friends and none with family, we are out of balance. If we spend all our time watching TV and reading Newspapers, and no time in the truth of God's Word; we are out of balance. If we spend all we have and give none, we are out of balance. I think you get the point.

LifeShapes – Part 3

“Time” ( read ) : Eccl. 3:1-8  “There is a time for everything”…

    Lifeshapes - employs the principle of being able to learn and remember a lot of information…through shapes… and be able to share it with others which is called discipling or multiplication.

    Within the “time” of eternity, there is a time we call life ( birth & death ) Then, within the time of life and death there are – what in the Greek are called “kairos” moments of time.  Kairos moments can be positive or negative, and they may be personal or general. A positive moment may be the day you were married; or it may be the birth of a child…Both of which are personal moments. The death of a loved one or a divorce or loss of job may be examples of negative personal kairos moments. While the events of Sept. 11^th. – Kennedy assassination – or a war for instance might be a general or common kairos moment.
    Kairos moments are things that happen that affect our emotions or have an emotional impact..They are also times when we grow or mature. Take a couple of minutes to write down some “kairos” moments in your life … Then think about what the result was for you. (Growth? Lesson? Insight? What was the impact?)
    Just because we go through “kairos” moments does not mean we learn anything…nor does it mean that anything changes. However, they are moments that are forever etched in our memories. For the Christian, learning and changes are all part of what we call discipleship. We can be discipled by God through events in our lives, as well as by the Pastor and the teachings of God’s Word.  It has been said that “it is not what happens in our life, but how we react to what happens that matters.”
    Think of life as being like a “Slinky” when you look at it straight on it is a circle…but in reality it is a series of continuous circles connected together by time. As we go back and recall these many “kairos” events in our lives, there are several things that we as Christians can look at. Perhaps we can see how God has had His hand upon our life…(This is the premise of my second book “By His Hand” – available at Amazon.com) Just a little plug! We can also see if we have grown or learned anything…We can see if we made good or bad decisions…and we can have opportunity make some positive changes, if we haven’t already. Or, we can determine not to make the same mistakes again in our lives.
    If you were to sit down with a friend or family member and draw a circle…how many things could you explain about TIME or about LIFE? I pray this will help.

Next time I will explain the semi-circle….