Ecclesiastes 1:2 (NKJV)
The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
How many men have you known who have gone from “on fire” new believers to lukewarm Christians? I have known plenty and have been one myself. When I first came to Christ, I joined a church, became a regular attendee of a Bible fellowship and joined a weekly Bible study. I was a sponge, soaking up spiritual knowledge after years of searching for truth. After a short time, I involved myself in an evangelism ministry and was discipled by some mature Christian men in my Bible fellowship class.
Over that first year I grew tremendously in Christ and my enthusiasm grew in tandem. That growth and enthusiasm peaked by the second year of my walk and by the fourth year I was in spiritual decline. Was I backsliding? If I had not firmly established my Christian roots by this point, I could have been. In practice though, my friends came to know me as a “good” Christian man who served faithfully in and outside the church. The problem is that the excitement had been lost in my life as a follower of Christ. I was no longer on fire; simply in a slow, long decline; becoming one of the lukewarm Christians Christ abhors.
Doing neither powerful things for His name’s sake, nor horrible things that would cause shame, I did small things that only served to make me look good in the eyes of my family and friends but provided no deeper fulfillment. There was good intent, but I was simply going through the motions. Deep inside, I really wanted something more. I wanted joy in my service.
So what causes a man to weaken in his walk and slip into a state of spiritual mediocrity? It happens when his walk seems meaningless, utterly meaningless. Why do something if you don’t feel there is a purpose to it? We get to this state because our Christian walk does not seem to match up to any higher purpose, even when we are doing things ”for God.”
Pray
Ask God to reveal Himself to you in the coming weeks as we explore your unique purpose in life. Pray that He will prepare you and use you in His service.
Ask Yourself
Do you serve without excitement? Is there currently an area of service that “fires you up”? Do you believe that God desires to use you in a way that you have not yet pursued? If so, what is holding you back?
Take Action
Explore the opportunities that your church has for service. Talk to a pastor to find out about those needs that may not be advertised in the church bulletin.
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