Looking Forward and Being Diligent

For many years I was a runner. I was not super fast, but I wanted to do the best I could. I would strive to run my course a little faster than I had done it before. One thing I learned was that I had to keep my face forward and my eyes ahead of me. If I turned my head or looked back, it made me slow down, and it could cause me to stumble and fall. Therefore, I was always looking forward and being diligent to do my best.

That is what we, as Christians, should all do in the spiritual sense. We are to keep our eyes on the goal of heaven and living in the place of perfect righteousness. The Bible is clear about this. (II Peter 3:14) "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot or blemish." Those are our instructions. How are we doing?

The Christian life is a daily race. There are things that we need to do each day like spending time with the Lord in prayer and Bible study, as well as serving Him and sharing with others. If we are not diligent to do these things our lives will not be lived in peace, but in conflict and confusion. Therefore, as we look forward to heaven, we must be faithful to walk with the Lord each day to have real peace.

Also, we must be diligent to be without spot or blemish. Those are the sins that can so easily slip into our lives. I like to think of a spot as an unconfessed sin. It is like a splatter of mud on our soul. When Jesus comes, we want to be clean not spotted with those sins of the world. A blemish is an imperfection that we allow to develop in our lives. Those come from sins, too, and they make us less radiant for the Lord. Let's decide to stay away from anything of which Jesus would not approve, as we look forward to seeing Him one day. 

#NHBaptistdotorg

Tomorrow, I intend to read I John 1-3.