Eat and Exercise

“If only . . . ”

Sentiments vary from person to person, but for me the saddest words are expressions of regret. If I were not a believer in Jesus Christ, and if He had not taught me what to do with them, my regrets would pull me into deepest despair. The words in today’s devotional guide have that potential.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

It is one thing to learn and have the Word of God in my own heart, but I often regret that I was not mature enough or obedient enough to teach them to my children as I should have when they were small. I probably did it more than I can remember, but this is a big regret for me, particularly when they seem uninterested in what God has to say.

However, I’m encouraged when I think of my mother. We watched her read her Bible every day, and three out of four of her children follow her good example. The fourth one reminds me that even though parents can do what they should do, it is not always effective in the lives of our children. They still make their own choices.

God also helps me with the reminders that my walk with Christ is about daily faithfulness. He produces the results; I am simply supposed to do what He asks of me. In other words, I cannot measure my obedience by the outcome in the lives of others. After all, God is the perfect parent yet His children fall short every day. It began with those first two whom He placed in a perfect environment, cared for perfectly, and had with them a perfect fellowship, but they still did their own thing.

I’m also encouraged by the apostle Paul. He wrote about his past to the church in Philippi and said none of his accomplishments mattered, never mind his failures. The important thing was that he knew Christ and deeply desired to live in partnership with Him, sharing in His life and even in His suffering. He wanted to be mature. Then he says;

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. . . . (Philippians 3:12-13)

The point is that I cannot waste my energies on regrets about the past (or rest on any laurels). God wants me to spend time in His Word every day so I can press on. I’ve long ago learned that going to church on Sunday to hear a message and then hoping that it is enough to last for the whole week is like eating dinner on Sunday and expecting it to sustain me until the following Sunday. I need to feed on the Word of God every day. How else can I grow? His food makes me healthy and strong.

I’ve also learned that when I share with others what I have learned, those lessons are more deeply embedded in my own life. I’m not sure why it works like that. Maybe it is as food: eat and exercise, eat and exercise. However God does it, when I “eat and share” I know that even if the listeners do not “get it” God still blesses me for taking the opportunities that He gives to tell others what He is teaching me.