THE LIVING ROOM
From the dinning room we walked into the living room. This room was intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a sofa, and a quite atmosphere. He said, "This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quite, and we can fellowship together."
Well, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I couldn't think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes with Christ in close companionship. He promised, "I will be here early every morning. Meet Me here, and we will start the day together."
So morning after morning, I would come downstairs to the living room. He would take a book of the Bible from the case. We would open it and read it together. He would unfold to me the wonder of God's saving truths. My heart sang as He shared the love and grace He had toward me. These were wonderful times.
However, little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time began to be shortened. Why, I'm not sure. I thought I was too busy to spend regular time with Christ. This was not intentional, you understand. It just happened that way. Finally, not only was the time shortened, but I began to miss days now and then. Urgent matters would crowd out the quite times of conversation with Jesus.
I remember one morning rushing downstairs, eager to be on my way. I passed the living room and noticed that the door was opened. Looking in, I saw a fire in the fireplace and Jesus was sitting there. Suddenly in dismay I thought to myself, "He is my guest. I invited Him into my heart! He has come as my Savior and Friend, and yet I am neglecting Him."
I stopped, turned and hesitantly went in. With downcast glance, I said, "Master, forgive me. Have You been here all these mornings?" "Yes," He said, "I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you. Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at great cost. I value your friendship. Even if you cannot keep the quite time for your own sake, do it for mine."
The truth that Christ desires my companionship, that He wants me to be with Him and waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other single fact. Don't let Christ wait alone in the living room of your heart, but every day find time when, with your Bible and in prayer, you may be together with Him.
by Robert B. Munger
5 comments:
OK! This one I am pretty passionate about. Ask LRT :o)
My question to you all is, if we say that God is the center of our lives and the most important thing to us, what should be one of the first things we do in the morning? Don't get me wrong, I am by no means any where near as consistent as I would like to be and certainly not as focused on really connecting as I should be. And....Frankly, some days I am just going through the motions. When that happens though I try to catch myself and either pull myself around or take a break and come back to it in a little while when I think I can give it the appropriate level of concentration. Anyway, the other question I have is, if you want to set the tone for the day, each and every day, should one of the first things we do is read scripture, have devotional, pray, mediate, listen, etc?
Blessings,
cas
This really is convicting for me. Meeting with Christ is a great priviledge and as Clark said I too go through the motions some times. But more often than not I'm up and hitting the ground running.
Dear God, please continue to motivate those of us who do meet with you consistently and grab the attention of those of us who hit the ground running in the morning. Thanks for promising to complete the work you started in us.
We also lift up TJ and Diane Charlton's Mom to you this morning.
In Jesus name, Amen.
This series was incredible. It was very humbling as well as motivating. The thought of Jesus waiting alone in my living room, where I invited Him, but I don't attend, cuts me "to the core". I am so grateful to have been reminded that Jesus wants to share His truth and blessings with me daily. gch
Well my brother gch. It's not over. So hold on for a kittle more soul searching.
I agree with gch, and I can obviously read that it is not over. I needed this conviction, and need to make time to spend with Jesus in the mornings. I'm that guy running out the door trying to get a jump on the morning.
onto the workroom!
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