Where are you heading?

Season for self examination

One wonders when the numbering of days, months and years began to dawn on our first parents. Perhaps it was after the fall of our first parents that such numbering began as days became difficult with the entrance of sin. One thing for sure is that it was in God’s mind from the start given that the days of Creation were numbered as found in the book of Genesis. Perhaps God has intended that the numbering of days, months, years and changing of seasons allows His creatures to ponder on the passage of time. We see this in the words of Moses in Psalms 90 v9,10: “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told… for it is soon cut off, and we fly away”. In the past weeks and months, I was vividly reminded by many real-life instances of men and women whose hopes of fruitful and useful retirement were prematurely disappointed either by the onset of debilitating disease or death. Here we are, at the end of another year; perhaps it behoves us to pause and examine our life if it indeed is in “the path of righteousness” (Psalms 23:3b). I would like to propose three lines of thought for your self-examination in this season, namely: (1) Are you worshiping God rightly? (2)  Are you growing in maturity? (3) Are you making disciples? These three areas are chosen because these are the key areas that individual Christians should thrive on as they represent the sum total of our focus in this short life when we are seeking first God’s kingdom.

Worship - are you giving God his worth?

To worship God means to give God His worth. The very embodiment of worship in words is seen in Rev 4:11: “Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power; for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” and these are first accompanied by action of Elders falling down and casting their crowns before God in verse 10. In other words, worshiping God involves two concomitant elements, one exhibited in outward action of words of praise while the other is the source empowering it, namely, a heart that is fully bowed before God. We can be sure to assert that the Saints in heaven are perfect and therefore their hearts are fully bowed before God. However, can that be said of you? You will surely say no! I would agree but what is the state of your heart today compared to last year this time? Is it but broken, first of all? If so, you would have endeavoured to continually repudiate (i.e. reject) your own agenda (Mark 8:34) and at the same time be more and more given to God’s agenda in the cause of Jesus in the way of devotional life, family worship, witnessing, prayer meetings and participation in cell groups and other activities as well as the well-being of our Church.  You would have bowed before God in tears regretting your wasted years and would have earnestly pleaded before him to show you what God wants you to do for the rest of your life? Is this true of your life? I submit to you that outward manifestation of worship needs to be undergirded by inner transformation; otherwise, your worship is in vain.

Maturity – are you mature in Christ?

Closely related to true worship is the state of your spiritual maturity in Christ. The question is, how complete or mature are you in Christ today compared to last year? Are you like what the Apostle Paul would say: that you are like children “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness…” (Eph 4:14). It is clear that God has given us Pastor and Teachers so that the people of God can grow into “a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13b). The Apostle Paul also echoes this in Col 1:28, “Whom we preach, warning everyman, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus”. Growing in maturity means two things, which are two sides of a coin, namely, that we have “received” Christ and are “walking” in Him. Receiving Christ means learning about Christ from the received Gospel while walking in Him means that we live out a godly life based on what we learned of the Saviour from the Gospel. If you were to have a scale for each component, how would you measure your progress in knowing our Saviour, say on how He has condescended to save you and, on the other hand, your progression in holiness with regards to the love for your neighbour or the mortification of your sin? Does this ring a bell in you?

Great commission – are you making disciples?

When our Saviour teaches us to pray the Lord’s prayer, how do you understand the chain effect of the first three petitions? If I may put it in the form of questions and answers, it would be as follows. When would God’s name be hallowed? It is when His Kingdom comes. When would His Kingdom, consisting of His willing subjects, come? It is when His will be done. OK, how would His will be done, it is when His Chosen people hear the Gospel and believe. This means that, the Great Commission as given in Matt 28, the making disciples of all nations, is on us! Granted that making disciples is not straight forward but are you growing in the desire to see God visiting your parents and loved ones with Salvation and taking concrete actions towards it? If you are, great! Then I would further urge you to go on and be part of a Cell group so that you can minister to others in the ways of making disciples of Christ.

These three areas I believe are key indicators to tell you if you have progressed or digressed in your spiritual life or that you have none! May Moses’s prayer in Psalms 90:17 be yours as well this coming year: “And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us …”. Amen.