True Success

(To my readers: I apologize for the awkwardness of this post - some days are just like that...)

09.15.11

Revelation 20.6 6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. NIV

(6:00 a.m.) There are, it appears, two deaths: the death of a life – the separation from physical life; and the death of a soul – the eternal separation from God and all that He has done. There are also (apparently) two resurrections: the first for those who will go into the everlasting presence of God; and the second only for those appointed, first to face, then second to go into the second death. The first death has eternal promise; the second death, eternal power. Those in the first resurrection are immune to the eternal power of the second death, and those in the second resurrection are immune to the eternal promise of life everlasting.

When I went to bed last night, I thought of how hideous I must be to God in my brokenness and sin. I realized (as I often do) how much I try to manipulate God into giving me what I think I want and realized as I do, I must come off as one who is horribly unclean and yet tries to make himself appear as acceptable. Bad breath, bad body odor, and stinking oozing sores are not things I want to embrace… and yet, God does. The promise of Christ is: I will be with you and I will be in you. Jesus, dwelling in a cesspool like me…

I know in Christ I am accepted in the Beloved but I also see the realities of how I try to take advantage of God. Recently I thought about how to measure the success of a day – any day. The true success of a day is for me to realize I am in the presence of God and that He, for all my faults and failures, is with me. My true success is not based on what I accomplish but how much and how often throughout the day I sense His hand upon me and His presence with me; and whether or not I celebrate His presence. (To be continued)

(14½ hours later) I must’ve been successful today because I cried aloud often to God. I had a miserable day by my standards and yet I managed not to throw my faith out the window and tomorrow I am going to dive right back into the fray. For those still engaged in it, work is an amazing teacher and revealer; teaching us about what we don’t know of God; and revealing just how much we try to manipulate Him.

So blessed are those who are saved from the second death and the second resurrection. Blessed are those who throw themselves on the mercy of God today and know that it’s a done deal when earth’s last canvas is painted. Today, I saw favor and mercy and a God who stands steadfastly by me at my worst. I’ll admit Heaven seemed fairly silent today but my car – and my heart – seemed full of its presence and God’s patient and knowing smile…

True success is to show up at the one death and the one resurrection and miss out on the second death and its resurrection. True success is spelled out in a life measured by just how often is spent in the presence of God and ignoring the push and pull of life that gets in the way of celebrating a presence like His.