Rejecting the Theory of Relativity in Prayer
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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Going straight to the Cross
You don't have to be an Einstein to appreciate
today's article.
Rejecting the Theory of Relativity in Prayer
by Russ McCullough
It’s 4:15 a.m. I have been unable to sleep since
2:30 a.m., not an uncommon occurrence, I suspect,
among the general population. People fail to sleep
for many reasons. My reason happens to be that I
woke up worrying about the burdens I carry at my
place of employment.
Like many of you, my workplace environment is
devoid of Christian principles. My mind raced with
thoughts of my burdens and what action, if any, I
should take. Soon my thoughts turned to prayer to
share my burdens with the Lord.
Comparing Burden to Burden
Then my prayer suddenly ended when I thought that
the Lord would find my burdens insignificant
compared to the burdens of many of you. How could
God care about my burdens at work when ...
... the future of this congregation is so
much more important in comparison?
... so many people have no job at all?
... by His grace I remain in good health
when so many do not?
... people are starving in the world?
The list is endless.
I soon felt guilty for bringing to the Lord’s
attention my burdens, trivial in comparison to the
burdens of others. Guilt, wretchedness, and
hopelessness threatened to overtake me. Then, when
despair over my dilemma was about to shut me down,
the thought occurred that God MUST speak to this
subject in His Word. He does indeed! What I
discovered I feel compelled to share with you.
No Sliding Scale
Some things we understand intellectually and yet
do not understand emotionally. For example, we
understand intellectually that all sin separates
us from God and there is no such thing as a small
or large sin in the eyes of the Lord. Emotionally,
however, we often wrestle with the guilt of past
sins, and their consequences continue to haunt us,
even though we know they are forgiven.
God does not grade on a scale of relativity. There
is no such thing as being somewhat saved or mostly
saved. We are either saved or lost. Period. Jesus
said, "You are either for me or against me." We
don’t slide in and slide out of salvation several
times a day based upon some sliding scale that God
uses on us. "If we walk in the light as He is in
the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, His son, purifies us from
all sin" (1 John 1:7).
In like manner, NEITHER does God employ some
sliding scale of relativity to determine whether
or not our burdens are worthy of His care. After
reading what God has to say on the subject, I
discovered that He does not look at my burdens in
relation to the burdens of others in order to
decide if He will care about them. Think about it!
If God were to do so, He would ultimately only
care about the ONE person on earth that happens to
be suffering the MOST at that given point in time!
All others, by default, would have to carry their
own burdens themselves until they moved up the
line.
Have Hurt, God Cares
The conclusion to the matter is this: God does not
care WHY we are hurting; the hurt alone --
regardless of its cause --is sufficient to warrant
His total care and attention. Hear what the Lord
has to say based upon a compilation of the
following scriptures: Psalms 145:14, 17-20, 1
Peter 5:7 and Matthew 11:28-30.
"The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up
all who are bowed down. The Lord is righteous in
all His ways and loving toward all He has made.
The Lord is near to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He
hears their cry and saves them. The Lord watches
over all who love Him. ... Cast all your anxiety
on Him because He cares for you. ... Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
Let us reject, once and for all, the theory of
relativity and share our burdens with each other
while we collectively give them to the Lord to
carry.
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