Well...we're at that point in the year when "diet" talk becomes the main dish on the talking table of people all over the states. Why? Because summer is approaching and people want to be "beach ready." We want to recapture that svelte physique that says, "Whoa...look at this!" Come on...you know it's true. No one wants to walk down to the water with a built-in tube around the waist. We don't want to look like an amphibious boat waiting to launch or a beached whale thrown upon the shore by a storm. So...it's time to talk diet.
What does it mean to diet? Obviously, the point isn't about eating less...no, it's not. The point is to lose weight. Eating less is merely the means to the end. That's why lots of diets will tell you that you can eat all you want and still lose weight. (They don't tell you initially that eating all you want means eating voluminous amounts of asparagus or celery sandwiched between pieces of cardboard). We all recognize that, to shed pounds, we must adjust what goes into our mouths. Personally, I find this repugnant...but nevertheless necessary. Sometimes it's easy to become focused on the diet and lose sight of the point...shedding pounds.
That sometimes happens in our spiritual journey, as well. We become focused on the path and forget about why we're on the path. We think the journey is about reading the Bible and praying and serving and going to church and helping the needy and all the "doing" that comes with our faith. There's certainly nothing wrong with these things...but the point of the journey is to know God. It is to live with Him and breathe His breath and sync our hearts and lives with Him.
You see...there are some things about relationships that can become difficult, such as resolving conflicts, forgiving offenses, learning to communicate effectively and thinking more about someone else than about yourself. But...we do all of that because the other person matters. We see the end result and we want to keep the relationship more than we want to languish in the pitfalls and potholes along the road.
More and more it becomes easy to lose sight of where we're going...to lose sight of Christ and each other. Don't do it! Don't overlook your relationship with Christ because you don't like something about "organized Christianity." (I've never understood that phrase. Perhaps the Church should try to be more unorganized. :-) ) Don't abandon your relationships because they require hard work and investment of self. Don't get bogged down in the journey and wander away from your destiny.
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:1-3
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17
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