Friday, August 9, 2002
Our family of five voted - and the vote was four to one. I lost. The issue was whether or not we would get a pet. Since I had grown up an apartment boy, the only pet I ever had was some cockroaches. But I went along with the vote, and we started down Pet Avenue with the purchase of a gerbil. And I really took a liking to him. But there's something a little strange about those furry little guys. If you could interview a gerbil about, like, what he was anticipating for today's activities, he might say, "The same as yesterday and the day before that." If you asked, "Well, what's that?" he would answer, "The wheel." And so Gerbil climbs on his wheel and starts running. Come back later, he's still running on the wheel. I guess they don't realize what's happening: lots and lots of activity - and absolutely no progress.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "A Gerbil On A Wheel."
My friend Mark has a successful business, a great family, and he's actively involved in a good church. But the other day, in a heart-to-heart conversation we were having, Mark summed up this deep restlessness in his heart. He said, "I'm sick and tired of the status quo." He's not alone.
I know more and more people who are tired of the "gerbil wheel" of status quo living. It's not that the wheel is bad - it just isn't satisfying. It feels too much like a life that is full of activity, but in terms of doing something really eternal, not really going anywhere. This feeling of restlessness about the wheel you're spinning on may be leading you to the same conclusion my friend has reached. Even though there's nothing really wrong in my life, I really want more from it than just more of the same.
Okay, the reason for the restlessness may be traceable to the reality that God shows us in Ecclesiastes 3:11. He says, "He has set eternity in their hearts." You've got this "hankering," as they say down South, for something that will give your life some eternal significance. You want more than a "gerbil wheel" of doing your job, making some money, maintaining your Christian activities, meeting your responsibilities. It's all good stuff, but again not enough to satisfy a heart that's restless for something more eternal.
The first step off the "gerbil wheel" of status quo living may be in our word for today from the Word of God - Matthew 6:32-33. Speaking of the pursuit of earth-stuff, Jesus says, "The pagans run after such things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given you as well."
As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we were not created to just spend our life building and maintaining an earth-kingdom. We are eternal beings created to make an eternal difference. The restlessness of our heart is ultimately to make a greater difference with the rest of our lives than we've ever made before.
If the status quo isn't enough for you anymore, ask God for a mission that will affect people's eternity, for a life that's committed to building His Kingdom; carrying out His agenda. Nothing matters more to Jesus than the mission for which He came to earth. In His words, "to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10)
My friend Mark, who told me of his discontentment with the status quo, said he wants the rest of his life to really be about sharing Christ, getting out the life-saving Gospel of Jesus, and taking people to heaven. He told me he wants his business profits to be about that, his relationships with the people in his world, his influence, the use of more and more of his time. See, that kind of passion to make the maximum possible difference with everything you've got with the rest of the time you have is the beginning of the great adventure your heart has been hungry for.
More of the same running on the same old gerbil wheel will never be enough for a heart that's made for the eternal. Be all about Jesus' Kingdom, and your life will count more than you could have ever dreamed.