G.W. Target wrote a short story in 1973 called “The Window.” It illustrates powerfully the choice we all have of living for self or living for others:  

Two men were confined to a hospital room due to their illnesses. One man had to lie on his back at all times; the other had to sit up for one hour every day because of the accumulation of fluid in his lungs. His bed was next to the only window in the room.

Each day for one hour, he would describe to the man in the hospital bed what he saw out the window. The man in bed began to live for that hour; his roommate spoke of the beautiful lake down below, describing the fishermen and the results of their efforts. Another day he described the skyline of the city on the horizon and the busy lives of the people living there. Mountains in the distance, capped with snow were reported on other days.  And so the months and seasons passed with these two men.

Eventually, the man confined on his back began to resent the reports from the window. He was ashamed to admit it to himself, but it didn’t seem fair that his roommate had a window by his bed. In time, this resentment turned to anger, and then bitterness. One night he was awakened by the coughing of the man next to him, desperately needing to clear his lungs. He looked over and saw him stretching to reach the call button for the nurse. It would have been easy to push his own call button, but he didn’t. He chose to offer no help, and in a few moments the coughing ended. It was replaced with labored wheezing, and finally . . . silence.

A few hours later the nurse discovered that the patient by the window had died during the night. His body was removed from the room and the other man said quietly, “Since I am now alone in this room, may I have my bed moved where I can look out the window?”

The nurse agreed, and after the bed had been moved and he was alone in the room again, he summoned all his strength to pull himself up on his elbows. At last he would see all that awaited him outside his window.

It was then that he made the discovery—outside the window there was nothing except a brick wall.

Contentment is sometimes a difficult thing for a believer.  “Why does he have a better job . . . a nicer house . . . a closer family . . . ? “

Why does the other person always get the window seat?  Life just doesn’t seem fair!

Romans 12:15 says to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep,”  meaning that contentment is not only being joyful in what you have been given—great or small—but being happy for others in what they have been given.

According to the words of Christ,  happiness is not found in our possessions . . . but in our perspective.

 Consider the needs God has met for you in the past week, and the ways He has blessed you beyond those needs. If you have been envious of others, confess it to Him; ask Him to give you the proper perspective on life to make you content in every circumstance. –Stephen Davey

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.–Hebrews 12:14-15

 

From all appearance, it looks like this will be a beautiful day, but you will not enjoy it. Nor will you appreciate the fact that you will have plenty to eat and that you can walk on your own two feet. You are bitter and it colors the way you see everything. Don’t make it worse, by trying to ignore it. Adrian Rogers wrote:

Bitterness is an emotional cancer that consumes many a person who once had the bloom of eternal springtime in his heart. Where does it come from? Usually from being hurt. Perhaps you were abused as a child, rejected by someone, fired from a job, or even bypassed at church.

Bitterness sets in when the hurt goes unresolved. There is a solution. If you’ve been wronged and bitterness has become so strong that you can almost taste its bile within your mouth, then it’s time to pursue it with a holy vengeance. With the Spirit’s spade, root it out. Draw a circle that takes in those who have wronged you. Forgive them for Christ’s sake!

Bow before the Lord this morning and ask for grace and power to uproot the bitterness that has taken hold in your heart and is robbing you of the joy you desire.

‘I’ve had a few arguments with people,” comedian Buddy Hackett once confessed, ‘but I never carry a grudge. You know why? While you’re carrying a grudge, they’re out dancing.” Think about it!

You’ve heard people say, “Keep looking up” and you know what they mean. The problem is that most people don’t look up far enough. If we really want to be helped, we must keep our sights on heaven (2 Cor.4:16-18). Pastor Greg Laurie put it this way:

“When we are young, we tend to think more about how God will bless us, guide us, and provide for us in this life. But as we get older, if we are smart, we also will start thinking about our future destination. If you are preparing for a trip, you probably will check the forecast for where you will be going, because you want to know how to prepare. As Christians, we are preparing for a journey, and the destination is heaven.

Deep inside us, there is a longing for a place we have never been. We are not dazzled by the world’s enticements like we once were. We see these things for what they are, and they no longer have the magnetic pull they once had. But the things of God pull us even more toward Him.

This unique quality that we have inside us, this longing for heaven, is put there by God. C. S. Lewis described it as “the secret signature of each soul.” It is like the little boy who, when asked how he knew his kite was still on the end of the string, replied, “I know it is there, because I can feel its pull.” I know heaven is there, because I can feel its pull. And I know that one day I will be there.

—— Another way to translate this verse is simply, “Think heaven.” As Warren Wiersbe has said, “For the Christian, heaven isn’t simply a destination; it’s a motivation.”

Is heaven your motivation today?

 

Our profession and practice are not always in agreement–we are human and we fail. But, we should never use that to excuse our failures. We must keep the ideal before us and strive to be the best we can be.

 

These words from Turning Point helps us in this area. “It’s time we lived as if we really believed our truths. If we really believed Romans 8:28, that God works all things together for good, we’d be consistent optimists. If we really believed in the power of the blood, we wouldn’t keep beating ourselves up over sins long ago forgiven. If we really believed that Christ was always with us, we’d be hard pressed to recall a lonely hour. If we really believed the world was lost and hell-bound, we’d be shouting the Gospel from the rooftops. And if we really believed Christ was coming soon, we’d live every day in anticipation of His imminent arrival.

Yes, we do believe. But sometimes we act as if we didn’t. Faith isn’t just vague intellectual assent, and hope isn’t mere wishful thinking. Jesus wasn’t just a bearded, white-robed character in a picture Bible, and heaven isn’t just pie in the sky bye and bye.

These are realities, as true as true can be. It’s time we believed our beliefs. The world can only be set aflame by those who live out their faith every day.”

Believe your beliefs and doubt your doubts; don’t make the mistake of skeptics of believing their doubts and doubting their beliefs.–Anonymous