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Unleavening In a Land Of Plenty
March 27, 2007
The members of the Church of God are in the process of examining themselves, at this time of year, as they remove the leaven from their homes and possessions. In past years I have cross examined my motives for being in God^s church, my dedication, my character, my interaction with others within and outside the church, my respect for the ministry, my respect and love for Jesus for his sacrifice, my unworthiness of His forgiveness and gift and my adherence to God^s word to the best of my ability.
This year I am looking more at my progress, and the allocation of my time. There are many aspects to being a Christian. The least of which is not the need for Christ^s sacrifice so that sinners would be forgiven and given eternal life and the acceptance of this forgiveness because Jesus wants us in His Kingdom. Some other aspects are: am I setting a good example to others or are they generally totally oblivious to the fact that I am a Christian? Am I working hard enough and long enough hours at work? Sometimes my boss thinks not, but is he a good judge or an oppressor? Am I spending enough time in the study of God^s word? Do I have works to back up my faith? Am I preparing for old age adequately or carelessly? Will I have an inheritance for my children? (Proverbs 13:22). Will I have a family? Do I give enough of my time to the brethren? Do I spend enough time in prayer, meditation and fasting? Do I spend enough time in cleaning my home and taking care of my possessions? Do I spend enough time in taking care of myself, in preparing meals and learning about proper eating, nutrition, vitamins, minerals, etc?
I ve been getting about six to seven hours of sleep a night, often not good sleep. I function ok most of the time but often feel that I need more sleep. That means that I am doing too much of some things. This strikes me as strange because I would like to do more of most things. For example I find my boss asking me to work faster and more at times. I find that I am not very knowledgeable about my investments and should be studying more in order to make wiser stock choices. This is in preparation for the future, retirement if necessary, family and children if I should get married, the unforeseen, I am falling further and further behind in reading church literature. I am barely producing an article a month for my religious website, what I consider works of faith. I hardly correspond with church members. I spend a minimum amount of time preparing meals and pay little attention to proper nutrition. And my days are filled up in doing all these things to the extent that I am doing them now. So where do I find the time to do more? I beseech God for enlightenment, energy and will.
In this society I consider myself as upper lower class as far as income and possessions go. On the other hand I live better than Kings of old. I have running water in abundance. I have sinks, a toilet and a bath tub. I have more food than I need. I have shampoo, soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a hair brush, a razor, and many other things for my daily use. I have plenty of clothing and footwear. I have a car. And what man of God would not enjoy the luxury of Bible on computer with instant word and phrase searches. I have much to be grateful to God for.
Spiritually I hunger and thirst. Emotionally I am much better off than I was before my baptism. Even though I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia since and am on medication I am better off spiritually. I have learned to turn to God for help, at least more than before. I still have much to learn. It is sometimes confusing distinguishing between what I know and what I think I know that is not right, what is leaven and what is unleavened. Physically it is easy. Spiritually requires years of developing a relationship with God. We are after all still human and do not yet fully comprehend being spiritual. We live by the way but have not yet reached our goal. Straight is the way and narrow is the gate, but we walk an often crooked path and have not yet entered the gate. A good understanding have those who do the commandments. Jesus expounded on these commandments, love God with all your heart and all your might and love your fellow man as yourself. This is an unleavened spirit.
I hope to participate in the Passover humble and grateful but with a spirit of repentance because I am still a sinner and human. I want to let God know that I accept His sacrifice for the forgiveness of my sins knowing that they need to be forgiven lest I fail to attain His Kingdom. We are God^s creation and disciples of Jesus in training for what He wants us to become. We must cooperate and grow in grace and knowledge.
Have a rewarding Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread!
2007 Jacques Gauvin
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