How to Make Room for More Blessings!
How good is a glass of cool water on a hot day? How refreshing is that first deep breath in the morning? It feels good to receive. We love receiving. We love being filled up. But, by definition, filling something means it is less than full. I have come to believe the pleasure in taking in is not as impactful as what we output.
Here is a life key – input is good but output is far better.
Take our physical bodies as an example. Physical bodies need exercise. If you want energy like a child, you have to move like a child. Kids crave action. Expending physical energy is critical for health.
Another example can be seen in our emotional life. We crave (safe) emotional challenges. This craving is evident by the tv and movie entertainment we watch. We watch shows so we can experience challenges that we do not want to have in real life. We crave emotional output. But like exercise, when it is personal it is painful.
How about mental/intellectual output? Especially as we age, we need mental/intellectual work to keep from getting cobwebs in our brain. The older we get, the quicker atrophy of the brain sets in. We are encouraged to learn a language, pick up a musical instrument, start a new hobby, or volunteer for a cause, and push our brain for action.
The point is output, expenditure, and effort are essential parts of our lives. We are called to take action, even in our spiritual lives.
- Forgive and you will be forgiven. (Matthew 6:14)
- Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (Luke 11:9)
To receive, we must first make the decision and put in the effort, then we have room for new life.
An overly simplistic measure of our input/output flow can be evaluated in terms of time spent. How much time do we spend in:
- Inputs – sleep, food prep and eating, TV, internet, etc.
- Outputs – work, exercise, learning, etc.
Our real goal in our lives is to be renewed – to be new again … and again … and again. How is this done? To get more “Life” we have to spend our “Life”. Jesus said in Luke 9:24, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.“
What is your output going to be today?
Blessings.