My life exists here on two plains–the vertical axis upon which my life revolves, and the horizontal plain, that outer area if you will, my relationships with other people.
These ideas just help me and I sincerely pray that they will also help you to know where to primarily focus your attention while you're here. Gotta tell ya.. I have friends here where I live who spend so much time and effort.. they spend their all it would seems on trying to get their work, home, school circumstances and personal relationships with say their relatives and others into an order. They long for lasting peace and real joy in life. But after a lot.. they might get one right it seems but then three other on this horizontal plain simply go outta whack. And so it goes, on and on. They are constantly working on the horizontal only ..for their benefit. It can be so frustrating for anyone. Hate that.. so I wanna try to freely help em as I've been freely helped.
I find that when I get things right on the vertical plain first, then my relationships on the horizontal plain will basically fall into place ..even if not all those around me love me. Sure, I can love them. The relationships on the horizontal plain will come into order and I can enjoy peace. But some people make it their primary aim to fix all their horizontal relationships only ..they fail to get the horizontal in order as they’d like it.. it’s sad.. ..overlooking the most important Relationship ..that with God.
We all can abide, we can enter that rest, but they strive and strive some more ..it's so in vain. It just fails and they don’t understand why there’s a lack of order, lack or joy, and a lack of God's peace. You’ve read about that widow lady. Remember how she went in and she made Elijah some bread and she found out that there was still flour left in the barrel, still oil. She kept feeding him. And during this whole period of the drought, the flour did not fail, nor the oil, it was always enough to make just one more.
I remember hearing my California pastor, Chuck Smith, say.. It’s really a miracle indeed and there is no taking away from the miraculous aspect of it, how that God supplied miraculously. But it is interesting the prophet said, “Make it for me first, and then for yourself.” There is sort of a spiritual kind of a thing here, as far as giving to God the first-fruits of our lives. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these other things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
Now if I twist this priority, and I start seeking first other things, then my life will be so involved in seeking other things that I don’t have time for God. But if I seek first my relationship with God, then all of my other relationships come into balance. They all just work on in.
You see, my life exists on two plains-the vertical axis upon which my life revolves, and the horizontal plain, this outer area, my relationship with other people. Now if the vertical axis of my life is correct, if my relationship with God is what it should be, then the horizontal plain of my life is in balance. My relationship with those around me is in balance and I am living a well-balanced life if the vertical axis is correct, if my relationship with God is all that it should be.
However, if the vertical axis of my life is not correct, if my relationship with God isn’t all that it should be, then the horizontal plain of my life is also going to be out of kilter. And I find myself on this crazy topsy-turvy kind of an experience, where I’m always trying to balance my life. And I’m spending all my time trying to get my life into balance and things in the proper focus. And I just never can seem to quite make it. Just about the time I get up here to try and balance this side, then I come overboard this way, you know. And I’m constantly working to get my life into balance, never seeming to be able to do it. My relationships are all messed up.
Now if I spend my time in just trying to balance my life, I am only treating the symptoms. It’s like trying to treat a brain tumor with aspirin. You know, just to sort of deaden the pain so you don’t feel it so bad and you don’t feel these headaches quite so severely. But you’re only treating symptoms; you’re not getting to the heart of the problem. Now any doctor who only treats symptoms is a quack. Stay away from him. You want a doctor that’s going to find out what the cause is that’s creating the symptoms. “Why are you getting dizzy?
Why do you have this severe pressure in the head?” You want something more than aspirin. Now people are so often treating only the symptoms, the relationship, and trying to get this relationship to work. “No, I’ve got to work on this and I’ve got to work on that. And oh, this is all messed up now, you know.” And we’re so busy in the horizontal plain trying to get it in balance when in reality the solution is very simple. Get the vertical axis correct. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Elijah said, “Make me first the cake.” It wasn't about Elijah here, it was really about doing what God wanted. I say give your life to God first. The outgrowth of that will also bless others around you. Will you put God first? facebook.com/shareJesus
