I have just finished cleaning up my office at home. I took the nite to spend with my family and when they retired for the evening I started to straighten up and clean. It looks pretty good…won’t last long but looks good now. Anyway, sitting here at the computer looking over the shelves of books and resources I am reminded of something Archie Parish shared during his presentation earlier this week. I had heard it before, will hear it again and it will, unfortunately, probably continue to be true. He said, “that the average Christian in America has way more knowledge about things of faith than they will ever put into practice.” He was making the point that many of us have read more than one book on prayer, know more strategies to have a healthy prayer life and yet we fail to put much of it into practice.
Looking over the resources in my office I bet I have collected well over two to three thousand dollars of resources in this room alone. All of them good, I get rid of the weak ones quickly because shelf space is precious. A lot of information, lots of great ideas on ministry and helping people grow spiritually. Tonight I wonder how much of it has been put into practice? What do people do who don’t have access to such resources? I imagine that God is no less real to them because they have not watched the videos or read the books that line my shelves. The disciples had Jesus and each other.
Sitting here tonight I am thinking of how blessed I am. All the resources at my fingertips. Am I making the best use of them? Am I a more devoted follower of Jesus because of having access to them or am I just someone who is growing in knowledge and struggling to put things into practice?
God, I thank you for the many blessings in my life. Thank you for the rich treasure of resources at my disposal to help me grow in relationship with you. As I grow in knowledge may I grow in practice. Let it never be said that I knew more than I practiced.
Leave a Reply