Pilate

This past weekend we continued our journey meeting people along the path with Jesus from the book of Luke. Our last individual was Pilate and we paid attention to him as a man that was trying to keep control, attempting to manage his own life, a man desperately trying to make life work. In truth he was a man out of control and his life was racing ahead with out steering and without brakes -the crash at the end was inevitable. His life ended in obscurity and apparent suicide.

As we always do in our teaching, we then turned the mirror on ourselves - I am much like Pilate, trying to manage, control and make life work in my own strength and on my own terms - a life heading for a crash .... and then there is Jesus - at peace, calling me to let it go into His hands and to relinquish control to Him alone. In that letting go of my grip and placing it in His hands -Life is found.

As I have continued to contemplate the message, the question comes: "how can I recognize when I am not leaving it with Him?"  In truth, I can be thoroughly convinced that the way I am moving through my day is correct and necessary - I, more often than not, don't even notice the problem and the degree to which I am managing on my own and gripping onto control. So... what can we do in order to gain better insight?

1) Friendship. Having at least one really good friend, someone who can see your life objectively and who can gracefully yet directly speak into it. Men, in particular, suffer a great lack of friendships and thus miss out on a God designed means of input and shaping in their lives. For a good blog on this issue go to:  http://followingtolead.com/following/what-men-know-they-need-but-dont-know-how-to-get/

2) Worship. Genuine personal and corporate worship is nearly impossible when I am hanging onto my life too tightly. Worship reorients us correctly to God, so I have found it difficult but fruitful to pause after times of worship and consider whether I was really worshiping or just mouthing the words. If I really enter worship - I will see the disorder in my life and find the Lord ready to reshape my days.

3) Sabbath. Sabbath patterns are designed by God to remind us of our need - to remind us of the fact that life doesn't work unless the Lord is in control. Stopping, yielding, resting, celebrating - these are gifts that shape us and bring life into life.