You Are The Answer
There is a popular bumper sticker that says “Christ is the Answer,” and He is the answer to man’s need for a Savior and Lord, but there are some situations in which we are the answer. Notice some of those.
Will you have friends? The answer to that is not in others, but in each individual. The wise writer said, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). An unknown poet put it this way:
I went out to find a friend
But could not find one there;
I went out to be a friend,
And friends were everywhere.
Having friends is like having neighbors. When the lawyer asked Jesus “who is my neighbor?” Jesus told him about the good Samaritan and said “go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:27). He asked, “who is my neighbor?” and Jesus told him to be a neighbor. A man moving to a new location asked the people near his house what kind of neighbors lived in the community. One of them asked him what kind he had where he had lived. When he said that he had good neighbors there, he was told that he would find the kind here also!
Are you happy? Unhappy people usually look at others as the problem, but the problem is generally the one who looks back at them when they look into a mirror! People who make a habit of complaining and criticizing usually find something to complain about and criticize wherever they go. One man told me that if he could just move back to the city he had just left, he would never complain again. I asked his wife if he was content when when he lived there and she gave a negative answer! I suggested that he would complain if he moved, because when he got there, he would be there!
Happiness cannot be bought or begged, but it can be cultivated because it is a product of choice. Each of us determines whether he will be happy, or otherwise.
Are you saved? Men often want to blame others for their spiritual situation, but each one is ultimately responsible for his own response to God. The actions of others cannot change your condition. It may make one feel better, because he has someone to blame, but each one obeys, or disobeys, for himself. Peter said, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Just as surely as sin is personal, so is obedience and judgment. People talk about “accepting Jesus as your personal Savior.” There is no other way He can be accepted!
Will this church grow? Again, you are the answer. Others have responsibilities, but no one else can fulfill your duties. If each person grows in grace and knowledge and “every part does its share” the body will grow (Eph. 4:16). The question has often been asked: If every member were just like me, what kind of a church would this church be? A good question!
Will you have friends? The answer to that is not in others, but in each individual. The wise writer said, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24). An unknown poet put it this way:
I went out to find a friend
But could not find one there;
I went out to be a friend,
And friends were everywhere.
Having friends is like having neighbors. When the lawyer asked Jesus “who is my neighbor?” Jesus told him about the good Samaritan and said “go and do likewise” (Lk. 10:27). He asked, “who is my neighbor?” and Jesus told him to be a neighbor. A man moving to a new location asked the people near his house what kind of neighbors lived in the community. One of them asked him what kind he had where he had lived. When he said that he had good neighbors there, he was told that he would find the kind here also!
Are you happy? Unhappy people usually look at others as the problem, but the problem is generally the one who looks back at them when they look into a mirror! People who make a habit of complaining and criticizing usually find something to complain about and criticize wherever they go. One man told me that if he could just move back to the city he had just left, he would never complain again. I asked his wife if he was content when when he lived there and she gave a negative answer! I suggested that he would complain if he moved, because when he got there, he would be there!
Happiness cannot be bought or begged, but it can be cultivated because it is a product of choice. Each of us determines whether he will be happy, or otherwise.
Are you saved? Men often want to blame others for their spiritual situation, but each one is ultimately responsible for his own response to God. The actions of others cannot change your condition. It may make one feel better, because he has someone to blame, but each one obeys, or disobeys, for himself. Peter said, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). Just as surely as sin is personal, so is obedience and judgment. People talk about “accepting Jesus as your personal Savior.” There is no other way He can be accepted!
Will this church grow? Again, you are the answer. Others have responsibilities, but no one else can fulfill your duties. If each person grows in grace and knowledge and “every part does its share” the body will grow (Eph. 4:16). The question has often been asked: If every member were just like me, what kind of a church would this church be? A good question!