“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, [b]I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3 New King James Version)
My youngest daughter had me crying in laughter last week as she described how she voluntarily selects to sit in the seat by the emergency door on long flights. Of course, she described the comfort of having more room to stretch her legs, but that is not what made me chuckle until tears fell from my eyes. What made me laugh so hard was how she described that sitting in that seat by the emergency door may come with more comfort, it also comes with certain responsibilities, She said with her voice changing in tone and temp, “Typically, when the flight attendants routinely go over the pamphlet in the seat pocket in front of you, explaining how to exit in emergencies, and demonstrating how the oxygen mask and the flotation device under the seat work in case of an emergency; typically nobody is pays attention.” She goes on to say, “But, when you set in that seat, by default, you are the one person who definitely needs to know every word of what the flight attendant is saying.” I haven’t started laughing hilariously yet. That didn’t happen until she said, “When I sit in that seat by the emergency door, I’m listening to every word the flight attendant is saying, I’m looking at the demonstration of what to do, and I start reading the pamphlet in the pocket word for word! While other people have this non-attentive, ‘heard it before,’ ‘whatever’ type of attitude, and they do not pay attention to the flight attendant, not at all, I’m listening intently, just as if I were in a graduate college class on the last day of class where the professor is explaining what to expect on the upcoming final exam.” She recognizes that her comfortable position comes with certain responsibilities.
My friend, you are in a comfortable position! Yes, you are! You have been saved by grace through faith. Yes, you are in a comfortable position as a believer, confident that you will experience the free gift of eternal life. Furthermore, you are comforted by Jesus’ words found in the verses above, taken from The Gospel According to John. That’s great! But just as my youngest daughter recognizes that her comfortable, airplane emergency door seat comes with certain responsibilities, the comfortable position you have, that being in Christ and being reconciled with the Father, also comes with certain responsibilities. You won’t find them in a pamphlet in a seat pocket in front of you, but you will find it on the profitable word of God, probably on the cell phone that is in your hand right now! Or it might be on a shelf or a table in your house. Please don’t make it a piece of room décor! Instead, pay close attention to all that is written in the word of God! Be ready to help someone else get into a place of comfort, the best place of comfort, in Christ! Have a great Tuesday! Be blessed!
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (I Peter 2:9 NKJV)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King
Being attentive to the Most High is a responsibility that comes with our comfortable position as a believer. Your words to be ready to help someone else get into a place of comfort, is highly profitable. I know the best place of comfort is in Christ!
I agree with you, Dr. G! Thanks for your response!