Vague thoughts on faithfulness have been mulling at the back of my brain for a good week or so now. I think there will be more to it, but here are my thoughts thus far.
I can't help wondering if we've overemphasized the importance of blessings in life; if we've started thinking the goal of the Christian life is to be happy rather than to be faithful and live lives of worship; if we've gotten our faith mixed up with the American dream. I'm not saying God doesn't let us be happy from time to time or doesn't ultimately desire our happiness and fulfillment. I'm not sure enough about theology to say that decisively either way. But I think the orientation in general is the problem--it's looking at what I have or don't have or need rather than who GOD is, what He's asking of me, and what HIS perspective is on life, ourselves, and those around us. Maybe.
I wonder if we've heard so many stories of Christians doing big things for the kingdom--of missionaries, of martyrs...if we've been told to "dream big" so many times, been told that we are destined for great things...that we become discouraged when we are caught up in the mundaneness of daily work, homework, paper-writing. It doesn't feel "big" or glamorous. But I wonder if our expectations have been falsely constructed; if we've trusted a false ideal.
