The Plumbline

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. (Colossians 3:1-2) Are you serious about following Jesus this year? The past three weeks should have cemented your determination to follow wholeheartedly, or maybe you have chosen to remain in control of your life and be a little too stubborn for your own good. Christ's call to us today is to 'get serious about living for him - stop waffling, buckle down, and 'get er done'.  Pursue the things over which Christ presides - stop shuffling along. A 'shuffler' walks that way because they are dragging their feet - they lack determination, are a little too resistant to the forward progress, or are so weighed down with life's cares ...

It was the American inventor, Thomas A. Edison, who reminded us that " just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless. " This is a good reminder for each of us who get down on ourselves because we didn't do what we were supposed to do. We aren't useless just because we failed. We are human! We are fallible. We are going to make unwise choices from time to time. It is what we choose to do IN those moments that makes all the difference. Do we get down on ourselves, labeling ourselves as 'useless', or do we take our failure to Jesus and ask him to help us find a way to take different steps the next time? You can’t whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them. (Proverbs 28:13) Edison also recounted that he had tried a lot of things, but in trying these 'new ways' he found lots of ways that don't work. We oftentimes find ways that just 'don't work...