Consistent Lives

Last week, Laura and I were flying over to Tennessee where I was speaking for a lectureship. On the plane, I was catching up on a few emails and going over my thoughts for the lesson to be presented about family. Laura was looking through the airlines magazine, and a story caught her eye. It was about five individuals who formed a bond when they met because they were all Road Warriors. They were named this year’s top Road Warriors by the airline.

A Road Warrior, according to the story, is a person who understands the “difficulty of being away from home for days, weeks, or even months at a time.” In addition they understand what it means to deal with “last-minute or unexpected travel changes.”

The article contained a short bio of each of the individuals, then a number of questions that each of them were asked during the interview. You know the kind of questions that are asked in this type situation: “What was the defining moment in your career,” “What is your favorite meal,” “If you could take a vacation anywhere in the world where would it be,” “What was the last item you purchased,” “What is the one piece of technology you can’t live without,” “What was the last song you heard,” “What do you do when you need inspiration,” then that staple question that seems to be in every situation similar to this (drum roll please), “If you could meet anyone (dead or alive) who would it be, and why?”

Great questions for any group who want to get to know each other. Sounds a little similar to some of the questions that we’ve attempted to answer with a group of friends on a road trip or at dinner.

My favorite all time was when I was on a road trip with a group of guys and one of them said, “If you could have any job in the world and make as much money as you want to make, what would you do?” The best answer to that question was one of my good buddies who said, “I’d like to make about $200,000 a year and do nothing!”

But I digress. Back to the story at hand. The most interesting interview was the Second-Prize Winner who was a jovial looking fellow who obviously has a zest for life. When asked whom he would most like to meet, he responded by saying, “Jesus Christ.”

His favorite meal? Barbecued chicken and beer! When asked what he does when he need inspiration he said, “I Drink Beer!” His seemingly convoluted answers caused me to think. Is it possible for someone to have a strong admiration and interest in Jesus while at the same time live a rather immoral life?

Can people have a divided heart and mind? Then I remembered the words that Jesus quoted from the prophet Isaiah, “THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.” (Matthew 15:8) In addition there are numerous examples of people in Scripture who at one moment seemed to love God with all of their hearts, but the next moment they were caught up in sin.

The man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22) says in one prayer to God, “Your Word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You,” (Psalm 119:11) and in another prayer is asking for God’s forgiveness for committing adultery as well as murder (Psalm 51:1-4)!

So what does all this mean to us? It means that anyone can fall. It means that we all need the kind of forgiveness offered because of Jesus. It means that those of us who claim to have a great love for and allegiance to Jesus need to constantly examine our hearts (2 Corinthians 13:5).

It means we should continually encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). We need to challenge one another to remain strong and when one of us falls we need to be there to help each other.

We need to be willing to ask for forgiveness from the Father when we fall and from one another. We need to be forgiving toward one another so that we can be more like our Father (Matthew 6:14-15). We need to live more consistent lives so that we can be more like Jesus.

Father we thank You for being the God of the second chance. We thank You for loving us even when we were unlovable. Thank You dear God for sending Jesus to die for us even while we were sinners. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Help us Father, to do our best to be more consistent in the way we live. Help us when we fall to get up and try again. Help us to be more like Jesus. In His Wonderful Name we pray, Amen.