By Chris Fields
Christmas is the season of giving, right? Well, “To whom much is given, much is required”! This Bible verse (Luke 12:48) sums up our Christian walk. Here’s what I mean:
- God gave the world the gift of natural life, and the gift of eternal life by way of His only begotten Son, Jesus. God’s requirements for Himself: Watch as humanity rejects and slaughters His Son, and watch as humanity (even those who profess Him as Lord) misuses His name. He won’t intervene because when He created the world, He gave dominion over it to humanity, and He gave us free will. God is bound by His word, and He knows our dominion will last until His Son returns to claim the kingdom of earth.
- Jesus, God’s Son, was given the kingdom of earth to rule forever. God’s requirement for Jesus: Death. This required Him giving up His throne next to His Father in heaven, leaving a kingdom of subjects created to obey Him, and accepting a kingdom of subjects created with free will – most of whom would reject, kill, and blaspheme Him. Like God the Father, Jesus is bound by His word, but because He was made flesh as a human, He had the ability to choose.
- Humanity, through the death of Jesus, has been given the gift of eternal life. We have also been given the gift of natural life. God’s requirements for us: Surrendering our natural life and being subjects to His will, principles, and precepts.
If I could choose, I would choose God’s requirements for humanity all day, every day, because they seem so much easier. However, our requirements are still quite difficult for us.
I wake up every morning to pray. That’s a good Christian thing to do, right? But every morning, I’m asking forgiveness for my previous day’s actions, and I commit the same offenses over and over. When it’s time to talk to God, one of His requirements is that I acknowledge how I didn’t act according to the understanding He has given me. I have to acknowledge the ways I haven’t surrendered my life.
I was given the gift of natural life. I was given the gift of understanding how I’m supposed to live according to His will – and I still drop the ball. Am I still to expect to receive His gift of eternal life? Sure, because God’s gift keeps on giving.
I’m tired of taking that gift for granted. This Christmas, I would like for you all to join me as I truly surrender my life to Him according to my understanding of His requirements. We owe Him that much.
Here’s the warning: “To whom much is given, much is required.” Once you begin to surrender to His will, you will begin to peel back the layers of His will and requirements. This is what it means to seek Him and find Him, act on His principles, and grow in our understanding of His requirements. God is a never-ending gift.
As Christians, it’s our job to take up that calling, and the world needs us to do it. This is my health and wellness challenge to you this next year and all the years of our lives.
Chris Fields is the executive director of H.E.A.L. Mississippi, a nonprofit whose mission is to reduce the impact of diabetes and other cardiometabolic disease in Mississippi. Our vision is to establish a high-quality, easily accessible standard of care for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases. God created us to be whole and healthy, and He’s made provisions for us to walk in His divine plan related to our health and healing.