Someday Future Self
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
--2 Peter 1:3-4
I heard a comedian once talking about his Future Self and his Right Now Self. I don’t remember the jokes, exactly, but the idea stuck with me. His take was that Right Now Self is always taking advantage of Future Self. Do my homework now or wait and cram it in on the way to school in the morning? Oh, let Future Self worry about it. Work out this morning or pay the price of being out of shape when track season starts? That’s Future Self’s problem. Apologize to my friend for not showing up when I said I would? Ah, Future Self can handle that next time we run into her.
Christians sometimes carry around an idea like that, except for some reason we think Future Self will be some kind of spiritual giant. We tell ourselves, “I can’t believe I gave into that temptation again. Someday I’ll be a stronger Christian and able to make better choices.” Or, “I know I should be spending more time with God in prayer or studying His Word. I’m sure Future Christian Self will have more interest in that.” Or, “When I’m a stronger Christian, I’ll be able to do things to help at church or to forgive people who are jerks to me or to tell others about my faith in Jesus.”
Hit pause on this devo for a second. This is sounding like a guilt trip. It’s not meant to be. I think sometimes we actually believe that we don’t have what it takes right now to live the life God wants for us. This devo is supposed to point to that verse up there with the very staggering news that we don’t have to wait for Mr. Big Bible Future Self to get started living a life that matters. Unpause.
Peter wrote that God has already given believers His “divine power” through the Holy Spirit. That means our Future Christian Self is here right now. This moment. We don’t have to wait for someday. Yes, we do battle with ourselves to make wise and right choices. And, yes, we lose those battles sometimes. But Peter’s point is that none of the battles are fixed. In the power of God’s spirit, you can win every stinking battle with Self.
As a believer, you’re not missing one little thing you’ll need today for “life and godliness.” God promised. Your Right Now Self can “participate in the divine nature” (actually walk with God today) and “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (actually not make wrong choices today).
If you take a minute to read the next five or six verses in 1 Peter 1, you’ll notice that Peter is NOT saying that you won’t have to work at. He says you’ll need to “make every effort.” But he also says you’ve got the power (in God) to make that effort pay off. Your Future Self will be stronger in Christ if your Right Now Self will stop waiting for "someday" to get in the game.
--2 Peter 1:3-4
I heard a comedian once talking about his Future Self and his Right Now Self. I don’t remember the jokes, exactly, but the idea stuck with me. His take was that Right Now Self is always taking advantage of Future Self. Do my homework now or wait and cram it in on the way to school in the morning? Oh, let Future Self worry about it. Work out this morning or pay the price of being out of shape when track season starts? That’s Future Self’s problem. Apologize to my friend for not showing up when I said I would? Ah, Future Self can handle that next time we run into her.
Christians sometimes carry around an idea like that, except for some reason we think Future Self will be some kind of spiritual giant. We tell ourselves, “I can’t believe I gave into that temptation again. Someday I’ll be a stronger Christian and able to make better choices.” Or, “I know I should be spending more time with God in prayer or studying His Word. I’m sure Future Christian Self will have more interest in that.” Or, “When I’m a stronger Christian, I’ll be able to do things to help at church or to forgive people who are jerks to me or to tell others about my faith in Jesus.”
Hit pause on this devo for a second. This is sounding like a guilt trip. It’s not meant to be. I think sometimes we actually believe that we don’t have what it takes right now to live the life God wants for us. This devo is supposed to point to that verse up there with the very staggering news that we don’t have to wait for Mr. Big Bible Future Self to get started living a life that matters. Unpause.
Peter wrote that God has already given believers His “divine power” through the Holy Spirit. That means our Future Christian Self is here right now. This moment. We don’t have to wait for someday. Yes, we do battle with ourselves to make wise and right choices. And, yes, we lose those battles sometimes. But Peter’s point is that none of the battles are fixed. In the power of God’s spirit, you can win every stinking battle with Self.
As a believer, you’re not missing one little thing you’ll need today for “life and godliness.” God promised. Your Right Now Self can “participate in the divine nature” (actually walk with God today) and “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (actually not make wrong choices today).
If you take a minute to read the next five or six verses in 1 Peter 1, you’ll notice that Peter is NOT saying that you won’t have to work at. He says you’ll need to “make every effort.” But he also says you’ve got the power (in God) to make that effort pay off. Your Future Self will be stronger in Christ if your Right Now Self will stop waiting for "someday" to get in the game.
1 Comments:
hello! well i just got back from a planet wisdom conference on sat. i went to the one in irving Texas. was wonderful. one thing that God showed me is that i need to be giving Him EVERYTHING! not just 90% but i need to give him 100% ! this is a great devo, it really emphasises how we have to live for God now, not later. thanks!
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