A temcat study

"Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?" Matthew 23:19

Most of mankind wanders in a morass of purposelessness. For the carnal heart, not born of the Spirit, life sooner or later becomes just a quest for happiness and self-satisfaction. Often the things seen as desirable are only doorways to more frustration. I want to be happy and have things my way, and you want to be happy and have things your way and if we happen to live together, conflict is bound to hit sooner or later.

So we have complicated social rules whereby I agree to minister to your happiness and self-satisfaction, if you do the same for me. But it often breaks down. I do my part, but you miss your cue and I don't get back enough satisfaction from you. Trouble is brewing and we get all steamed up talking about 'fairness' and 'rights'. Maybe then you decide to give me what I wanted and for a while things are OK. Or maybe you decide- forget it! And we break up and go our own ways.

Born Again

Heaven doesn't run on the same wave-length as this fallen world. In Heaven, self is not the king, God, a being with perfect love and unselfishness, is the King. He rules, not so much by command, as by example, and all the unfallen universe delights in following His gentle direction with perfect happiness and peace as the final result. When we are truly converted and Born Again of the Spirit, suddenly we find we have a whole different set of purposes. Our purpose becomes that which Christ demonstrated when He lived among us. To bring honour and glory to God by reflecting His Character, which is His Glory. Blessing others and living for their good is the very heart of the Law of God.

Ultimate purpose

Jesus never lost sight of His ultimate purpose and His mission to accomplish for the glory of His Father in Heaven. What were His purposes? To show God's Glory to the world, (God's character is His glory!) and to redeem man from sin.

He never got so caught up in fulfilling His mission that He began to loose His cool with His disciples. He never began to yell at them saying "Here I am doing all this for you and you just don't catch on, you are so stupid!"

No, day after day, month in and month out, His patience remained 'renewed every morning' just like His Father's. He never let the emergency or difficulty of the moment cause Him to forget the aim and purpose of His life. He had many trials, more than we can ever fully understand, but you never see Him frustrated. No, He remained calm and continued kind, patient, and loving to those He had come to save.

He knew the people were what mattered, not just the performance of a given task. He had come to minister to them, and He did just that. When you read the life of Jesus, you can see many places where we, with our selfish hearts, would have figured He had every right to get angry, tell them off, or even just turn around and walk away saying, "If you guys can't do better than that, just get out of my face!"

Look at the feast at Simon the Pharisee's house. Here Mary brings a sweet gift and presents it lovingly to the Lord, and what happens? The disciples are jealous. They, especially Judas, decide they should have had that gift; it shouldn't have been wasted on Jesus.

Here He was nearing the end of 3 ½ years of putting up with them, patiently teaching and ministering to them, and still could not see much results from it all. Never had any one of them ever came along and brought Him a gift and said, "Here, this is because I love You."

We would have considered Him justified to blow up and chew their ears right off. But all He did was gently rebuke, and that in defense of the woman, not Himself. No He never forgot His purpose in living.

When we are born again, we have a purpose in living that we never had before. It is the same purpose that Jesus had, to obey and glorify the Father in Heaven by service to Him and our fellow beings. If we keep that purpose always before us, we will live very different lives than the unconverted, selfish ways of the world.

A few examples

If I am a wife with the carnal heart, I will clean my house and do the necessary work and then I will say, "See, look at all that I did for you guys, you better appreciate it and do something back for me or there is going to be trouble! And you better not mess it up again either."

This tends to make the family feel that they are a bother to me and that work is something to use to put others under some kind of obligation.

But the truly born again wife thinks, 'Is my family's purpose to serve my house? Or is my house to serve my family?' She will do her tasks with a different attitude, thinking of the honour a well ordered home brings to God, and how much she contributes to the joy of her family in these tasks, small and great that go into running a home.

Her family will catch this unselfish spirit and will also delight to do their part, as they are able, to contribute to the home firm.

Here's another example; the Carnal heart sees the job as most important, the born again heart sees why the job is important, not for itself, but for the honour of God and the happiness and comfort of others.

There is a saying that most people 'love things and use people' instead of 'loving people and using things'.

I have to clean up the house because I have someone coming that I want to impress and so I am bustling about cleaning and tidying. Little Johnny comes along and asked, "Mom, I want to help." Do I yell, "Just get out of the way, I can do it better without you." OR do I remember that the training of my children is in the sight of God far more important, than even a clean house to impress a guest, and patiently guide him thus allowing him to feel the satisfaction that comes with honest labour.

What is the Purpose?

If you find yourself rushing about, impatient, frustrated, irritable, too busy; STOP and think about what is the purpose? Compare that purpose to God's eternal purposes. What is the good of a clean house; if all in it are hurt and unhappy, feeling that they are just an irritant to you, and somehow they are imposing on you? What is the good of a fancy meal, taking hours of work to prepare; if your family sits down to it sullenly and resentful of the way you've been yelling and irritable all the time you were preparing it.

What is the good of working to support a family; if they dread your very footsteps on the porch because you are always so cross and irritable when you come home. What is the good of a family treat or outing; if everyone is rushed and yelled at to get ready and then made to feel obligated to you for going so far out of your way for them?

"I did this for you, and you'd better enjoy yourself if you know what's good for ya!"

Heavenly purposes compared to earthly

Which is greater; the house, or the family that dwells there? Which is greater; the job, or those who the job helps and provides for? Which is greater; your ministry, or the souls you are ministering to?

When we are truly converted, and Christ reigns within through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we will have the same purposes Jesus had. When our purposes line up with God's purposes, we will experience a vast difference in our daily attitudes and behaviour; a difference that will affect those around us.

Pat Temple