Quintessential Redneck

A Place In The Sun

When I took this pic, I immediately labeled it ‘A Place In The Sun’. Not after the 1951 movie exactly. But because it is a Sunflower on the edge of a cornfield reaching for a space where it can receive sunshine. Don’t we all reach for something, our place in the sun? Something to help us feel relevant? Yet we may never be satisfied until we find our place with the Son.

The Passion Translation of Romans 8:14-17 reads: The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. And you did not receive the “spirit of religious duty,” leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the “Spirit of full acceptance,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” (Papa or Daddy) For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own.

Suffering Is Not What We Want

As the Apostle Paul wrote above, we will be satisfied and indeed we will find our place with the Son when we have accepted the proper relationship. Part of the problem is we want our walk with the Lord to be pain free. That suffering is not what we want. We want to do things our way, not God’s way. Some call that selfishness, others would attribute that to arrogance. The prophet Samuel equated arrogance to being like idolatry.

Feeling Good Enough, Feeling Relevant

Paul packed a lot of deep thoughts in those four verses. Besides suffering, Paul mentioned the fear of never being good enough. I have struggled with that feeling and so have many others. I met a church leader once that said, “I can tell that you are good enough to go to our church.” What an incredibly wrong statement! Churches are for all of us. Although often times I have had a low opinion of myself, I had the where with all to know that a church is not a building. A church consists of people, imperfect people. The book I am writing now is about some of those imperfect people. The same people painted as Bible Heroes in Sunday School classes across the globe. These characters suffered because of their devotion to God, but they also suffered because of their imperfections. None of us are good enough, but some of us have received what Paul describes, a “Spirit of full acceptance.” Only then are we ‘good enough’. Only then are we truly relevant.

Please Help Persecuted Christians

Please notice next to, or beneath my blogs there are external links to some very worthwhile information. Embedded in the body of this blog is a link to bring extra attention to an organization that helps the broken that are suffering greatly. Follow this link to learn some of their stories so you can at least pray for them. The Voice of the Martyrs