Have an Active Summer...in the Word!

So summer vacation is finally here! After the craziness of papers and finals, it's great having tons of free time to goof off and relax. It's also a major temptation to fall into laziness.

Let's get this straight. Rest is a good thing. God gave us the ability to rest. He himself rested for a day after creating the universe in a week. So it's not a sin for you to sit around doing nothing but reading a good book or watching TV or even sleeping till 2 in the afternoon. Laziness is a sin, and it happens when we make rest our idol.

An idol is anything that we make a priority before loving God an obeying his commandments. It's not wrong to relax but it is wrong when we neglect to read our bible or serve others simply because we don't feel like it. Just take a look through the book of Proverbs and you'll see the bad fruit that laziness produces.

This past semester, I believe the Holy Spirit has caused incredible growth in all of us in Resolved. God has done great things. However, there is a danger that, as a result of laziness and not being surrounded by Christian friends 24/7, we might slip back into old habits of sin and backtrack from the progress God has worked in us. The Christian life is not meant to be a passive life. We are called to be active.

Romans 13:11-14 says, "11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." How do we fight our fleshly desire for laziness? We put on Jesus Christ. We walk in the light as He is in the light. We read and meditate on His Word. We serve others, even when we don't feel like serving.

Remember that we cannot live an active life in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will work in us, but that does not give us the excuse to sit back and wait for him to work. Philippians 2:12-13 says, "12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."

Pursue God with all your heart and He will cause you to grow. Go have an active summer!