1 Corinthians 3:1-4 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4 For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?
We find ourselves today in a secular culture that promotes immaturity. Growing up, I heard the Toys R Us jingle many times. “I don’t wanna grow up. I’m a Toys R Us kid.” As innocent as it sounds, it perfectly voices what I believe has grabbed the American culture. We’re constantly being encouraged to live by our feelings and be true to ourselves; honestly, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. America’s culture is pumping out people who don’t want to grow up and who always want to live as if they are children, always doing whatever they want, when they want, and avoiding hard and uncomfortable things.
As we can see in 1 Corinthians, Paul deals with the same problem. How many of us have sung the great hymn, “Prone to wander Lord, I feel it Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above”? My problem is always a heart problem. It’s easy for me to chase after everything that doesn’t last instead of the thing that matters most. I can have as much of Jesus as I want, but can I put down whatever is my current distraction to deepen my walk with Christ? I must say “No” to my desire for instant gratification and remember that this world is not my home. It is my duty to abandon all the “important” things so nothing may stand in the way of obtaining Christ. Sadly, I believe most of us are stuck in a cycle that keeps us in spiritual immaturity.
It is a terrible cycle, never making much impact for the kingdom, and like children constantly worrying about not knowing God’s will or not understanding what He is doing in my life. I want to highlight two reasons for this: 1) the wheel of life, and 2) we are running on the wrong power source. For the rest of this blog, we will look at the wheel of life.
The devil can’t take your salvation away, but he can take away your effectiveness. One thing that I think he does best in this generation is to get us to run on the wheel of life. The Bible refers to the Christian running a race Hebrews 12:1-2. So, to combat Christians, the devil has developed a diversion, something like a hamster wheel. I call it the wheel of life. Jesus called it the “cares of this life” (Luke 21:34). We get up in the morning, put our feet on the floor, and before we can get our eyes fully open, we have to hurry up and get ready for the day, get the kids to school, and get off to work. Then we work all day and hurry home to figure out what’s for dinner, take care of the family, and hopefully go to bed at a decent time so we can rest up and do it all over again.
We run hard on the wheel to work and to get somewhere with a career plan. We try to find some vacation time while working ourselves to death because we must achieve the American dream. We get on this wheel and run and run and run, but unfortunately, there is no room for the Kingdom on this wheel. So, just as the hamster that runs and never gets anywhere, we Christians also run and never get anywhere in our relationship with Jesus. It’s time we stop solely living our lives reacting to everything life throws at us and live purposefully.
Let me remind you, dear Christian, of Jeremiah 29:11-13: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
Before you go the wrong direction with this verse, yes, if you are a child of the King, then He can do nothing but be loving, kind, and gracious to you. He is not mean or unfair: He hasn’t fallen asleep or forgotten you. Verse thirteen can help us understand our Father’s number one priority. It’s not comfort, prosperity, or having a wonderful life as we often define it. He simply wants all our hearts to love Him more than anything and advance His kingdom by living in the power of God’s salvation.
You are saved to do great and wonderful things. You are saved to participate in God’s kingdom activity on this earth. You are not a spectator but one who brings tidings of hope and grace to those whose greatest need is to be rescued from their sin. It’s time to be effective for the kingdom, no longer chasing after what will fade away. Let us fix our eyes on a city not made by human hands, a place where the very King of Kings beckons us to abide in His presence and live forevermore. It’s time to jump off the wheel that leaves us in the pit of worthlessness, constantly searching for purpose. Git rid of any hindrance; everything must go so that Jesus may have all your heart, and with endurance, we can run our race.
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