Success is Process

Please read special note at the bottom of this post

Luke 19:11 (New Living Translation)
The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.

One of the pastors of my church gave a sermon on the true meaning of success tonight. I thought I would share the points that struck me....

The first thing that he said is that success isn't our new car or our new job. It isn't getting married or having children. Success isn't money and it isn't filling our wish list.

Success, he said, was the process God uses to get us from point A to point B. The verse above was the beginning of the section known in other Gospels as the Parable of the Talents. It talks about how a nobleman left 3 servants with money - one he gave$100 (put in modern standards and paraphrased) , one he gave $50 and another he gave $20. The first two both went out and invested the master's money and doubled it while the last one hid his money fearing that he would waste it. Because the first two were faithful and did good with the master's money he gave them more to work with. The one who was unfaithful he took the money from him and chastised him.

But the verse above is what started the parable and why Jesus said it in the first place. "He told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away." He told them this story because they expected God to come in all His glory right then and there. But He had another way! We call ourselves the microwave generation because we want things right now but even back then they sometimes couldn't wait.

Jesus wanted us to realize that the process is what it was all about - not the end result. Where we are now in life is due to the process we went through to get here. To develop patience with people we had to endure people. To develop strength in character we had to endure temptation. The thought even goes into our physical lives - if we want to gain strength or lose weight we have to work out!

We should not weigh our lives (no pun intended) on whether or not we are where we want to be but rather whether or not we are are allowing God to take us where he wants us to go.

But please note the rest of the parable and realize that we can not just wait around for God's best to fall into our laps. We have to make an effort before we can see it happen. The pastor said if you want God to give you a dream invest yourself in someone else's dream. Help someone else fulfill their dream and God will give you a dream of your own.

Luke 16:12 (New Living Translation)
And if you are not faithful with other people's money, why should you be trusted with money of your own?

Why are most Christians not doing something with what God has given them? They're waiting for the chance to change the world. Change your small corner of the globe and see what God does in your life.

Special Note: My wife and I were talking about the sermon mentioned above and about her dreams. We have decided to help her develop her dreams by allowing her to invest in my own - this blog. So starting this Sunday she will be writing the blog on Sundays and sharing her thoughts and feelings on things going on around us and around the world. Please pray for us and we continue to reach out with our blog and look forward to "Keri's Korner" (or whatever the title becomes...)!