Rope Illustration of Eternity

A group of us ushered in the new year with a Word of encouragement from the Scriptures and prayer.  I shared a handful of verses with the theme of Ephesians 4:1-

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

The rope illustration I borrowed from Francis Chan.  I was first introduced to Francis Chan at Biola University when he came to speak at a Chapel service.  As always, he always inspired us to move on our faith.  I'll never forget that he talked about living a life worthy of the calling and what it meant to to give sacrificially and how it would/should impact the rest of our lives/comforts.  Then my buddy and I walked back to the dorm and saw him drive of in a "ghetto beast" car that I believe was running on 4 tiny spare tires. It was hilarious!  I'll never forget that. We walked away thinking, "dude. that guy was serious!" LOL.

Be blessed and inspired:

So, I'd encourage anyone reading this to marry this concept of living for eternity with our identiy in Christ as Believers who could in position, be in Christ, but in practice, be living for the little piece of red rope.  It is possible that our identity is in Christ and our eternal destiny is heaven, but we in pracitce live as if all that matters is the red. 

Change that lasts must come from the inside out. Our minds must be transformed and renewed to think of eternity and our identiy as prisoners for the Lord who make a conscious effor to live this life worthy of the calling we've all received.  Then and only then will the behavior follow.

After all, we are purusing heart renovation, not merely behavior modification.  That is to say, let's not focus on just "forget the red and consider the rest of the rope" but rather we should cry out to the Lord and ask him to reveal anything being harbored up in our hearts that is causing us to be consumed with the red part.  He will accomplish this through the Holy Spirit, the Word and the community in your life, just to name a few. 

May this year be a year where we are steadfast in the Word and fully committed to the body of beleivers; specifically, the few people that God has surrouned you with who speak truth into your life. For the men, they are other men who are not afraid to ask you the hard questions, confront your sin and confess their own sin to you.  May this year be a year where we are focused on our identity as prisoners for the Lord, walking worthy of the calling we've received.

Blessings for 2015!