What if you had obtained by many thousands of hours of toil and sweat the title of master plumber, sought out by many for your skills? What if you could not only join together by the process of welding any metal placed before you, but could design and manufacture from raw materials those items first, and not only metal but wood to make any cabinet or piece of fine furniture.
What if you had the skills to take any old vehicle or motorcycle from a field where it has been left to rust and die and not only restore it to its original pristine condition, but modify it in ways that were never imagined, if you could do the same to any dilapidated house, from the foundation to the roof.
What if your skills were in high demand, and people were more than willing to pay you, and that well, for your talents, and then the Almighty asked you to pick up a pen, and when not writing what He would have you to say, to sit for untold hours in front of a computer monitor making cartoonish videos, for no pay, at least in this world, whatsoever?
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” (Phil. 3:8)
But I must admit, at times I do not.
There are at least five crowns that we are to strive for, to work diligently for with no break times in between, but I rarely if ever consider them.
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” (Matt. 6:20)
I give little to no thought to those treasures either, I am much too concerned with the task at hand, watching the next words flow from my pen onto this paper is a reward I thirst for continuously, it is beyond amazing to me.
I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn much of this world, and also blessed with the propensity, the talents by the Lord, to most generally achieve the desired goals I have set before myself, all with little or no thought of Him who blessed me so.
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
Absolutely nothing that matters in the eternal, which is where we will spend the majority of our existence.
I have lost none of these skills, but today, when something needs to be done, I do not look upon it as a joyful experience, but as a distraction, unwanted at that, for what I have been called to do. I do not cut corners, I am not slothful in that necessary task, but I see them now as nothing more than fuel for the fire.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2nd Peter 3:10)
The thirst and hunger for righteousness is never filled in a man of God, as long as there is one unrepentant sinner, one weaker brother, one who claims to be serving our Lord, but who is leading others astray. As long as there is one wise man of the world who calls the wisdom of God Almighty foolishness, I have a task before me.
As long as evil exists on this planet, I have work to do, as long as there are those who serve our Lord with fear and trembling, who seek His face, who desire to see His will be done, for Him to be glorified, there is work to be done.
But if it is done for any other reason than these truths, if it is done with even the smallest amount of vainglory, for self, even with those rewards and crowns in mind, the work will falter, perhaps even fail.
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11)
His plans were not my plans for many decades, but He asked me to alter my plans, to give up the world and seek His face.
I will offer you this truth, it will cost you everything, and a part of you will never stop looking back, even in desire at times.
What you want should be what He wants for you.
