Life is good!

Luke 1:28&29 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

There are times in our lives when things are going well. These are times to be cherished and remembered. They can be fleeting in their duration. If you are used to a life of trials and tribulations these experiences can almost seem to be foreign in nature. You can bet no one says “Beam me out quickly Scotty” when times are good!

Just as our struggles are a gift from God, so too are the times of plenty. We know this to be true from the words of James 1:16&17 “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  We are constantly blessed in our lives by the Lord. We are given salvation and life eternal through the grace of God. We received these gifts through the sacrifice of no less than the Son of God. Talk about extravagant gifts. And we have done nothing, nor can we do anything, to make us worthy of receiving these gifts.  This is given as a gift to be cherished, and shared with others. But let me ask you one question. When life is good, and things are going well for you, do you stay as in touch with the Lord as when you are eyeball deep in a crisis?  Don’t be shy, look into your heart and ask yourself that question.  It is an important question so take your time and think through your answer. And don’t be ashamed if your answer is no. Do not beat yourself up too badly. That is all part of being human. Our very nature is sinful. We have lots of practice and it also just comes naturally. But that does not mean we ignore the problem of slacking off in our devotion to God in times of plenty. It just means we need to be aware of that tendency and try to do better. We pray for help from the Holy Spirit. We pray for the faith we need. And this we do not just for ourselves. We do this because how we behave is observed by so many others. If we strive to set a good example in practicing our faith, we can impact so very many others. We strive in our lives to be Christ-like knowing that we can never achieve that standard. But that does not keep us from trying to do better. We are already saved, so it is not a matter of salvation by works. Rather we do this out or gratitude and devotion. Praise God at all times.

PRAYER:  Lord of all creation. Thank you for our blessing, be they big or little. Thank you for the blessings we do not even recognize as blessings. In the name of your Son, our greatest blessing we pray. Amen.