Life is interesting isn't it?The way that people do things and think now is so... different from how things were done in the past.One huge example is in relation to jobs, employment.
My mother's generation in this lovely island seems to be the generation where a huge section of society pulled themselves out of poverty.Many people in my mom's generation became teachers and nurses and civil servants etc. They were more educated than their parents and would eventually have better, higher paying jobs than their parents. My mom's generation tried their best to achieve some kind of educational qualification after secondary school so that they could have a profession. They would find a job in this profession and many stayed in that job until mandatory retirement. The thought of changing professions would not even occur to many of them. That was just how it was.
My generation is a bit different. My generation also tended to aim for some nice qualification to lead to a nice, hopefully nice paying job. However some of us have discovered after a few years that the job that we have wasn't... fulfilling, so some of us tried to find something more rewarding to do with our lives. I suspect that this happens alot in western countries.
My generation is crying out for fulfillment in their employment. People long to find something that gives their lives meaning as well as brings home a paycheck. One of the growing trends is to discover who you are, especially among christians. It seems that as more believers find out that God has created them for a purpose, they want to figure out what that purpose is (in the specific sense. , lol)So we do the wonderful personality trait tests, and the how we learn tests, the love languages tests and the strengths test, and all sorts of other tests. We are pleasantly pleased to find out there are reasons why we think and do things the way that we do. (HURRAY) We find out that we really aren't that strange because there are others who think and act like we do, and so we set out on a quest to live the abundant life that Christ died for. (wonderful)
Here is the thing... why do we only apply our individuality in who we are to what we do?What I mean is, we take what we have learnt in all these test and try to figure out what work we should do. Why don't we apply the test to our relationship with God.
Confused?? Good.
We have ideas of what it looks like when a person is a good christian. Well dressed, tidy, prays for 15 minutes every morning and before each meal. They are excellent and instinctive at managing their money. Their children are the most intelligent and most talented 2.5 kids around. They have the coolest jobs and always seem to have life in control. They have no problems, quote scripture on a dime, and lead the most disciplined lives around. They have daily quiet times, and always seem to have a bible near to them. They tell everyone that they know that they are believers and run from the mere thought of every sin. Many of these people do exist and are wonderful people... but what about the rest of us who aren't like them.Seriously, I forget to read the Bible sometimes... often. No, developing a routine won't help. Yes, maybe I am indisciplined... but then maybe, I am just me. Perhaps I need time to process the things in the Bible that I have read for a while. Maybe I am the kind of person who is much better at open conversation with God than at praying for selected amounts of time in specific places. Maybe if we teach people in discipleship how to figure out THEIR relationship with God, it would be better than trying to teach people what A relationship with God looks like.Are we like the woman who thinks that her husband doesn't love her because he doesn't say it that often, even though he comes home to her every night and always helps her with chores and spends time with her? True that husband will need to learn to say the words to her, but she also needs to develop a relationship with him that is based on who the two of them are, not what Hollywood says they should be.
Yes we should read our bibles and pray regularly as well as doing other things. However, should we beat ourselves over the head because we aren't as excited about some things in our relationship as some people are.
Maybe we need to develop our own relationship with God based on who we are, and who He is, not what someone else's relationship looks like.
Just a thought....
N.B This was originally posted on my FB page as a note.
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