I Want It
Now Think On This
Steve Martin
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and
manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For
we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other
an aroma from life to life.” (2
Corinthians 2:14-16, NASU)
Have
you ever stopped and realized that when you see someone with something you
don't have, one first instinct is to say, "I want it."
It could be anything, such
as a new house (or one newer than what you have now), a better car, a more likable
job, or just a day with no problems to contend with. I noticed myself “wanting
it” when I was looking out an office lobby window at lunch time and saw
several people on the sidewalk carrying orange plastic bags. They looked like
they had been at a convention uptown. All carried the orange bag. My first thought
was, "I want one."
Wow, another bag. As
if I really needed one.
Is it just our human
nature to want something that another has and we don't? I think so. Look at
Jacob and Esau, for instance. It was during the time of the patriarchs when Jacob wanted
Esau's birthright and he schemed, along with his mother, to get it. Or go back
further in history’s timeline, to that Scripture telling of Cain and Abel. Cain
wanted the Lord's approval for his crop sacrifice, which was not what the Lord
was requiring. A blood sacrifice was needed to be acceptable, as Abel had provided
with his lamb. (This was a foreshadow of the Messiah Jesus’, Yeshua HaMashiach’s,
sacrificial blood poured out on the cross. The sacrifice God required could not
be satisfied with something obtained from our own human efforts and
toil, as was Cain's presentation. It had to be a blood sacrifice provided by
the Lord Himself.)
Jacob and Cain each
wanted what his brother had. They were jealous that the other possessed it, and
thus wanted it for themselves.
Looking at it from the other side, as I work with co-workers who do not follow after the Lord, I find myself at times checking
what I am presenting to them, as a believer in the Lord Jesus. Is my life's
testimony something they would want for themselves? Do they see or
sense His Holy Spirit in my life, and desire Him, even if they may
not realize Who He is?
Many days I think not.
In my mind, sometimes my testimony is not what I would like it to be “on the
job”. Those days when I struggle with life’s issues, my thought is that I am
not portraying the “victorious” life that I believe we are to be sharing with
others. (And yet even of those times I choose not to walk under the enemy’s condemnation
because of it.) Those surrounding me may even realize that life as a believer on
this earth isn’t a bed of roses, which some were led to believe it would be at that
initial salvation experience. But we press on in the midst of our struggles,
with His grace working within us always.
When I think my
testimony isn’t the greatest, the Lord still encourages me. He reminds me of
those people who have let me know, after I left a particularly place of employment,
how my presence there had made a difference. They were watching me in my day to
day activities, knowing what I stood for, and how I handled most situations. A
seed had been planted in their heart and spirit. They knew there was something
more than just the life they had. My prayer now for them is that another believer
will water that seed, and it will blossom in due time.
As the dark gets
darker, the light we have, the Holy Spirit shining within us, will be bright
and illuminate more than we would imagine. Even as a single match lights up a pitch
black room, so we will be that to others in these times we live in.
My prayer is that those
ones around us will be saying to themselves at some point, “I want it. Whatever
they got, I want it in my life.” And then may the Lord Jesus come and reveal
Himself to them, having used us as part of His plan fulfilled.
“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”
“For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.”
Now think on this,
Steve Martin
Founder
Love For His People, Inc.
P.S. I would be
most grateful if you'd share this encouraging word with your family and
friends. They might need it. You can easily use the social media icons below.
Thanks! Steve
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Now Think On This - In the New Year of our Lord 03.04.16 -
#248 –“I Want It” – Friday at 6:00
pm
All previous editions of Now Think On This can
be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This
Again, I would be most grateful if you'd share this
encouraging word with your family and friends. You can easily use the social
media icons below. Thanks! Steve
