By Lydia Teh
There are seasons in our lives; a time for everything.
To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven (Ecc 3:1).
In school, we worry over exams. At work, we are concerned over our career progression. Then we fret over meeting Mr. Right. After settling down, we fuss over raising our children. After retirement, we want to enjoy our golden years but ill health may plague us.
In every phase of our lives, we meet different challenges. This is a fact of life no matter who we are or what we do. The crux for us Christians is whether we allow them to affect our service to God. Have we given excuses such as these:
- I can’t go to church this month; I have to study for my final exam.
- I can’t serve as a Sunday School teacher; I am up to my neck with work.
- I can’t come early for worship service; I always sleep late on Saturday as it is date-night.
- I can’t go out and visit the sick or elderly members, my kids exhaust me completely.
- I have worked so hard my whole life, it is time for me to rest while others work.
Amidst the daily hustle and bustle of life, we can make our service to God count. Prioritise Him, not leave Him the leftovers of our time.
God is gracious to us; yet sometimes we allow His blessings to impede our service. He blesses us with a good tertiary education, but we use our studies as an excuse to shirk services. He gives us a fantastic job, but we let work overwhelm our lives. He gives us a beautiful family, but we allow them to rearrange our priorities. He blesses us with good health, but we sideline Him in our pursuit of leisure.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58).
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Rom. 12:1).