ATM Theology

It was Friday afternoon and it was allowance day! My Dad had just gotten home. When I heard the sound of his car I ran outside and before he was even able to get out of our sweet 1981 Plymouth Voyager I was holding out my hand saying "Pay up Dad it's allowance day". Immediately after he shut his door to the car he said, "You aren't getting an allowance today." I was shocked and confused. Then without him even telling me why I wasn't getting an allowance I figured it out. That day as I waited in expectation for my allowance to get home I had not thought once about the provider of that allowance. I had not even thought about how my Dad had never failed to provide me with shelter, food, clothing, guidance, and love. But all I could think about that day was a measly five dollars that I was going to receive because I might have had taken out the trash once or twice that week. I aloud a measly five dollars to overpower the truth of who provided that five dollars. Later on that evening my Dad sat me down and explained to me why he did what he did and it was a great lesson learned. I aloud my selfishness to rule my life that day. I took my Parents for granted.

In Experiencing God today we all learned how it is pivotal to not expect God to work on our terms or expect God to do exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Blackaby states, "Jesus does not follow us; we are to follow Him. You do not invite God to join you in your activity." That Friday when I looked at my Dad as an ATM I had forsaken any type of authority he had in my life and I demanded that he must get on my agenda.

I think a lot of times when we say we are going to follow Christ we don't consider the cost that his Word evidently proclaims to us. Matthew 16:24 says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Everyday in my relationship with Christ I have the struggle to want to bargain with God and ask him to let me play the authority. May we all begin to stop asking God what is his will for our lives, but go to the source of how he has so clearly laid out his will through his Word for his creation. For me to ask God, "What is your will for my life?" is such a selfish question that I fail at miserably everyday. May we all begin to consider asking the question in this way; "God how can I be apart of your will?" I think if we begin to ask the question in this way we will be able to clearly look to see who is the ultimate authority in all of our lives. Which will then allow us to see all of the great ways God is wanting to move in the lives of our coworkers, friendships, or even with our waiter or waitress at our favorite restaurant. But if we don't join him in the places he is ready to move and we just keep looking for him to work on our time and our agenda then when will those people we come in contact with everyday get too hear the truth of the Gospel if we are distracted by our own agenda? There is no doubt God is always moving in some way, but if we are always wanting to know what is in it for us we will never see how we could be apart of something amazing (Habakkuk 1:5 "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told")

Bryan Lewis

High School Campus Outreach Director