Open wounds
Have you ever cut yourself and you were bleeding all over? It seems like a ridiculous question because of course, the answer is yes. We all have had some time in our life where we have injured ourselves.
Whatever profession you have decided to take there are always risks. When you are learning anything in life there is a time when more accidents happen. And hopefully, you learn something in the process so that the next time you’ll remember what you don’t want to do. But even if you are seasoned in your profession you never know everything. You are always learning. If you come to the place that you think you know everything there is to know in your profession, you really are not a blessing to anyone. Know it all’s are not learners. And just because your seasoned doesn’t mean you still don’t have accidents.
I have a young friend who is learning construction. As my friend has been learning, he has had several accidents that have resulted in blood. And some of his accidents could have been really bad. There are other times where there could have been a serious accident but he was spared by the hand of God. I think he may have two guardian angels.
It made me think
It made me start to think about how this is a good example of our spiritual lives. When you become a real Christian, it is a process. You may be wondering what I mean by a real Christian. Well, you may have grown up in and around Christians but that does not make you a Christian. What makes you a Christian is your own connection with God. We cannot have a connection vicariously through our parents or anyone else, it has to become our own. How would that work in your profession? It would not! You have to learn yourself with the help of the master teacher.
Spiritually speaking God should be our teacher. He is that Master and can truly teach us how to be a Christian. Can we learn from others? Yes! But ultimately we need to be learning from the Master. When you get a job there may be others that know things within your profession that you can learn from but you better be sure it lines up with the master teacher (your boss) or later on there will be some repercussions.
I have followed what others said and it turned out to be wrong. Or I have even given wrong advice that turned out to be wrong. The one that gets the most reprimanded is the one that did it wrong, not the advice giver. Why is that? Because the master teacher (boss) says you should not rely on what others have told you but go to the one that knows, your boss, supervisor, etc.
So how does that look when it comes to our walk as a Christian? We can learn from others but we always need to be sure that it lines up with the Master Teacher. In the end, when we follow the advice of others and do not follow through with checking it out with the Master Teacher, we will receive the repercussions of our decisions. We are responsible for our own decisions.
Growth takes time
Just like when your learning a profession it takes time, so does growing as a Christian. In any profession, there are those times that we may choose to do something that we know isn’t the best thing but we know that we can get it done more quickly. It may not be bad in and of itself but our master teacher (boss) has said he wants it done a certain way. And most of the time, in the end, we may have made a mistake that could have caused us harm or someone else. It is the same in the Christian walk. Sometimes we choose deliberately to do something that we know is not pleasing to the Master Teacher (God) but we think we know best but in the end, we discover God always knows best.
Then there are those times that we are going along at work and after the fact, we realize we have made a wrong move. Sometimes the consequences are minor but sometimes more severe. In our Christian walk when we are walking along there are going to be times that we make a mistake that we did not even realize until after the fact. It could be that we are still in the growth process and the Lord has not revealed it to us yet or it could be we did something without thinking.
In whatever case we find ourselves, I am so thankful for a God that is forgiving. We can come to Him with a contrite heart and He will forgive. And just like God is so merciful to us we should be merciful to others.
One of the faults that can break down the camaraderie in the workplace is to have a superior feeling. If others around you feel like they can’t ever do anything right and that you feel superior to them it breaks down any relationship. This happens within the Christian walk as well. We have to be careful not to be pointing our fingers at others and thinking ourselves superior because we are following this rule and that rule. The fact is we can be lost just because we have an attitude of superiority. In the workplace, you can end up losing your job. In the Christian walk, you can end up losing your salvation.
We need to allow everyone to grow as God leads them. And God leads everyone on a different path because everyone’s journey is different. The best thing we can do for someone is to love him or her and pray for them.
Growing
So how do we keep growing? When we start in a profession there is definitely a learning curve and the same is in our Christian walk. So do I eventually learn it all and don’t have to keep learning? The answer is no. This applies to the workplace as well as the Christian walk. When we stop learning we become stagnate. No matter what profession you have chosen there are always changes that take place due to new technology. And if you don’t keep learning you’re going to fall behind and eventually probably lose your job. The same is true in our Christian walk if we don’t keep learning we stop growing in our knowledge of the truth.
Some may say it isn’t really the same because our profession changes because of new technology but God’s truth has always been the same. My question would be, has the technology always been there but we are just learning about it? I would say the affirmative yes. It has just taken someone to come along and discover the technology. We all have the opportunity to discover the “technology” of truth from God’s Word but we all discover it differently because that is how God works. We should not rely on people to discover the truths of the Bible and then tell us, we should be discovering it ourselves. Because even if someone has discovered a truth in the Bible we are supposed to study for ourselves and see if those things are so.
Dear Father,
I am so grateful for Your saving grace. As I cling to You and stay in Your Word You will lead me into all truth. Keep us faithful to You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Stay connected to God each day.
Love you all.
What accidents have you had in life that you can draw a lesson from? I would love to hear your story. Share below in the comments.