One of the sadly enduring effects of the past two years seems to be a certain apathy, a certain “blah,” that has affected most – maybe all? – of us. This deadness to the world, mental exhaustion, and lack of care can easily seep into our spiritual lives every bit as much as our day to day routine. Beware friends: there is danger here! And broadly in that vein, here are three articles I’ve found helpful to gain perspective and to jar me out of that mindset…
- A poignant reminder from Tim Challies: “We must not waste the days when we may feel little need for God, we must not neglect the times when we may feel little desire to build a relationship with him. It is when things seem to be at their best that we need to plan for the worst, when all seems to be gain that we need to prepare ourselves for loss.”
- Stephen Kneale reminds us that there is a great danger when all is going well, an apathy that we must avoid at all costs: “Though the Israelites were prone to grumbling when things were not going so well, the greater danger for them was when the Lord had provided all of their needs and more besides. They were far more likely to become complacent and care far less about the Lord when everything was going well. In other words, one of the greatest dangers for God’s people was their own comfort.”
- I found this article about attending funerals very timely given the service that we will be holding tomorrow. The entire article is helpful, but especially challenging is a point made near the end – a point related to bringing our children to funerals: “When you bring your children to a funeral you are teaching them about community in the church. Especially if they don’t know the person, they see a vision of what it means to live life together in the body of Christ. It helps shift their minds toward serving others who are in need, rather than thinking about themselves.”
