#2 Where Am I Heading?
The Joy of It All
...joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in
the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
(Colossians 1:11-12)
Notice that Paul doesn't talk just
about the power of endurance and the power of patience. If he'd done that, he'd have sounded just
like a Stoic philosopher. There are plenty of Stoics around. Stoics believe that
you should endure everything and be patient about everything, that you should
grit your teeth and bear it.
I always think of a Stoics when I see Robert Parrish play for the Boston
Celtics. They call him "The Chief.@
He stands about seven feet tall, handsome, with finely chiseled features, his
face betraying no emotions whatsoever. You could never tell if they were on top
of the league or at the bottom, if he=
d just lost his best friend or had just gotten married.
He's a born Stoic. I'll bet he can endure. I'll bet he's patient. But on the court he looks miserable.
Paul says that when you are strengthened with God's might, you will have great endurance and patience - but joyfully! -
"joyfully giving thanks to the
Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the
kingdom of light.@
That's the difference between
striving for the prize of the gospel and straining for one that's temporal. You can win an earthly marathon with a grimace on your face and wind
up with nothing more than a faded bauble to put on your mantle. But you win the
race of the gospel with a smile on your lips and joy in your heart, for you know
that you've been qualified to receive
the eternal reward of a limitless inheritance.
And you know the best thing of all? In the Christian race, God himself hands
out the medals.
If you were to rate yourself on a scale of one to ten, one being Stoic and
ten being full of joy, how would you rate, and why?
Father, please help me to remember that the prize I am striving for is an
eternal one, and one that I'll
receive from you, Amen.
~Stuart Briscoe~