Formula 1 pt4
From the teaching ONE pt4
I can remember taking a class in college called "Working with Families". In honesty, I needed an elective and this seemed like something easy, like a guaranteed "A". Once the class began though, I realized that I actually enjoyed it. I remember covering a topic about having an "intentional family". That always stuck with me because it was something that made sense to me and I knew wisdom when I heard it. I kept the article that accompanied the teaching and from time to time I'd reference it, but it wasn't until much later that I was actually serious about applying it to my life. My natural tendencies are that of a person that loves knowledge, but when I lack direction, I am tough to get going. I've been known to be called a jack of all trades and master of none, procrastinator, crammer, a person that works under pressure, etc; all code for lazy and misguided. When I'm on, I'm on; but when I'm off, I'm off. If you are reading this and you are a young person, trust me when I say to you that if you allow bad habits to follow you into adulthood, the little beast only grows into an even bigger and stubborn dragon.
Fast forward to me becoming a wife, a citizen of the Kingdom, and mother. All these responsibilities only magnified my struggles and I can remember me wanting to hit the "pause button" of life so I could just catch up; but life doesn't work that way as we all know. I then remembered the class I took years earlier about being intentional and I saw similar principals set forth in Scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:5 and 11:19 are clear examples for why we need to be intentional about our life. Loving and serving YeHoVaH and His people is the entire intent for our existence. Marcus made an excellent point about how the family/marital unit is the heart of a community. What we do in our homes reflects who we really are at heart. If we can't get it right at home, what does it really say about us? This doesn't mean that things have to be in perfect working order, but are we operating the way YeHoVaH expects us to? Are we being productive and proficient in our home life? Are we showing loving patience, humbling ourselves, being peacemakers, etc.? If the answer is no, then we have work to do. The people we love most are usually the people that we can feel the most hurt from and because we may continue to have close interaction with them, we can allow walls of resentment to become a barrier to operating in the ways of YeHoVaH. However, like the title of this series, we are called to be one with our Creator, spouse, and brethren, so if it matters to us to walk with Father with any integrity, we have to address these barriers and break them down.
Many things that challenge us are easier said than done and most of us can relate to that statement. Some people are walking this faith alone while their spouse is on another path. That requires tremendous love and patience! Some may have a spouse that's just like a puppy and follows, but never really develops their own walk. That also requires love and patience. How do we walk this thing out in situations like that or even when we have rebellious children under our roof? These are things that require a maturity that only Father can provide and there is an expectation for the Sons of God to walk in His Spirit, Romans 8:14. Like I mentioned earlier, the natural man will build walls of resentment towards the people that grieve us; it's a totally natural response, but we are called to operate in the supernatural and these ways seem foolish to our natural man 1 Corinthians 2:14. Dealing with these situations are by no means easy. Some people are dealing with incredible pain that they've suffered by the hands of another person, but that's why we have the Comforter, to teach us all things and bring them to our remembrance John 14:26. You don't have to do it alone.
Father wants us to be intentional about our walk with Him. This is not simply a tradition that was passed down from our parents, but it's OUR relationship with Him; a REAL connection that lives and is at work in a very real, tangible way in our lives and the lives of others. So as I pointed our earlier, the family/marital unit is the nucleus of the community because it's where our genuineness of heart will show forth most accurately and where we will probably get the most practice applying this walk. I have had to be intentional with my life in applying the tools that I've learned from the Word and His voice in helping me at home. Where I lack, I try to apply the Word and employ the Spirit to strengthen me in overcoming. I no longer refer to myself a procrastinator or a jack of all trades, master of none. That does not and will not define me. I used to be a lot of things, but now I am a new creation. It is my desire to continue exercising this oneness that I am invited to enter into and it all begins at home.
Cassandra
2 Responses
Norfleet Griffin
Thank you for writing and sharing this. I, too, am a new creation in Messiah, and I take that responsibility and privilege seriously. I pray Father will give me, and you, and all of our brothers and sisters, the strength to accomplish His will with endurance until the end.
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Sharon Campbell
August 11, 2017
Cassandra,
Thanks! You always give me a message to ponder and apply.
Sharon