My Task

I heard a message last Sunday that I haven't been able to get out of my head.... which is a good thing. The Bible reference was Romans 14 and the following verses have been mulling around in my brain.

Romans 14:17-18 [The Message]

God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy. Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ. Do that and you'll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.

I especially like the phrase about God setting my life right, putting it together, and completing it with joy. I did a pretty good job messing my life up and its been a long hard road back. And I think its because I keep trying to do it by myself! A life lesson that I never seem to learn...

I think the joy that has been missing in my life is due to my focus, selfishly, on myself. My struggles, my mistakes, my past, my problems, etc.... It shouldn't be about me. Romans says that my task is to single-mindedly serve Christ and while I'm doing that, HE's the one who can take my life and set it right, put it together, and complete it with joy. THAT is what I want - joy.