Sunday, January 2, 2011

Life's A Picnic!

I was once asked to speak at a ladies spring tea which had the theme of "Life is a Picnic", I began thinking about how life is a picnic and I came to the conclusion that life just like a picnic can be as full or as sparse as we make it. I have had picnics with fried chicken, rolls, potato salad, coleslaw, bean salad, strawberry shortcake and on and on and on. And I have had some picnics that consisted of just a few peanut butter and jam sandwiches and maybe a granola bar for dessert. Now given the choice I think we would all agree that we would like to have the first type of picnic, a large, full, banquet of a picnic rather than the second kind.

Life is like that too. We can have a full life, living life to the fullest, or we can have a life that consists of just getting by, putting one foot in front of the other, of just making it through another day. Christ has promised in Joh 10:10 “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” If we choose to put our life in God’s hands then we are promised to have a more abundant life than if we just do things our own way.

Both of the picnics I mentioned are picnics, actual ones that I have been on. But one was full, one was great, one was a feast, the other was… ‘just a picnic’. It was my choice which picnic I chose to go on. It is also my choice to be a follower of Christ, not just a church attender, but an actual follower of His ways, of His teachings of His plan for my life. By choosing Christ I can have a more abundant, more fulfilling life.

I know this will probably come as a shock to you…. But not everyone enjoys going on a picnic. My mother in law hates them because of the bugs. She is always worried that a bug might make it’s way into the food. Then there are some people who don’t like picnics because they’re just too much work. They don’t like things out of the ordinary. They think it is just too much work. So they settle to have things mundane and ordinary.

When we go on a picnic, it is a big event. The fun is in the planning: what dishes will we take? What’s on the menu? Where will we go? Who will we invite? The more we include in the planning, the more everyone will enjoy it. Our lives are much the same way. When we have a personal relationship with Christ, we will have a full, abundant life. Life as you knew it will never be the same. Your life will no longer be lived just for yourself. You will want to do things to please our Heavenly Father and that alone will make your life one big adventure.

Many people try to fill their life with good deeds and social events, but they end up still feeling empty. That’s because they are still lacking the one Thing, or person in their life that they need most of all.

Let’s be clear about one thing, we are not saved by our works but when we are saved we want to work for the Lord. James 2:18 says: “Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”

Having a full, abundant picnic of a life is possible for everyone who wants it. You can be content with peanut butter and jam sandwiches or you can have fried chicken and potato salad and all the fixings. It’s up to you which life you choose. And yes it is your choice. 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is that easy. We need to confess and repent of all the things we’ve done wrong in our life and ask the Lord to forgive us and He has promised that He will. He will not hold your past against you. It will be as if it never happened. That’s a pretty big promise.

Maybe you’ve been thinking that there has to be more to life than what you’ve had so far. There is. You’ve tried doing things your own way and you have just felt unsatisfied, like nothing ever goes right. Why not turn your life around by turning it over to God? You will never feel unsatisfied. He is able to meet all your needs and just like King David said in Psalm 23: your cup will run over. You will be blessed with a full and abundant life.

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