Several weeks ago we had a visiting speaker at church who spoke three different times during the weekend. I have quite a few notes from that weekend that I go back and look at now and then.
Here's one note that jumped out at me the last time I looked through them.
Christians are too much like thermometers and not enough like thermostats.
We walk around talking about the state of the world, the sad conditions of our neighborhoods, and the depravity of society in general. We gasp at the awfulness of things we see and hear. We wonder why all those people are so cold toward God.
And then . . .
We go on about our own little lives without giving God another thought. We make decisions without consulting Him. We forget to show His love to those we come in contact with. We turn a cold shoulder to the person in line with us who needs a listening ear. And with each of these selfish actions we bring the temperature down a little further.
Instead we need to kick that thermostat up a notch by spending some time each day in prayer asking God for His guidance in showing His love to those around us. We need to let Him lead each step we take. We need to smile at the person in line who seems depressed. We need to listen to that person who needs to talk it out. And we need to offer to pray for those needs.
We need to turn up the thermostat of God's love in our world and bring some warmth into the cold, darkness that exists without that love.
It is a symptom of living a busy life. It is a shame to.
ReplyDeleteYES! I had someone speak at our church a year ago or so who said the exact same thing! It stuck with me and I had it highlighted starred and in bold print in my journal!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great analogy....it's so true though. It's easier to talk about things than it is to do something about it.
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