Your Daily Walk
January 22, 2023
Dr. Paul Cannings
You look at the news and see the kind of devastation that is taking place in Ukraine, and you wonder if they would give up, but all you hear is send more tanks, need more ammunition, need more weapons, etc. For the love of their country and their passion for having their own autonomy, they fight. Their leader remains among them as he fights a political war and advocates for the needs of his people each and every day. He goes into the trenches with his soldiers and walks the streets with world leaders. Years from now, they may be forgotten, but their country stands.
What are we fighting for that has generational value? When we finish fighting, the generations that come behind us find strength, purpose, and passion for making things better for the next generation. When we spend our money, what is it that we buy that has lasting meaning? When we claim to love, are those around us better? Each day our young people are dying from drive-by shootings, and teachers die or are wounded while trying to teach their classes. Children do this while dressed in the nicest clothes and have cell phones and all the video games they can get. We “ooh” and “awe” when a baby is born, but “oh WOW when they grow up”. Again, what are we fighting for while satan runs the world (1 John 5:19) with a passion for destroying all who live in it (John 10:10).
We even come to church wanting God to bless us in the city and the fields, can’t find time to bring our children to church, but can faithfully attend their games. What drives us when we wake up (Psalm 127)? What is our war that we are passionate about that we vocally encourage others to engage in?
When we are told to have a passion for Christ (Luke 12:29-32), there is silence as if to say, “I’d like to, but there is so much on my plate.” A passion for Christ builds character (Romans 5:1-5; Philippians 2:12-13), makes a man like Christ, a woman like the church, and children godly so that by obeying their parents, they live long in the land. Because of their commitment to growth , God establishes strong families and provides long life and riches (Psalm 112; 128; Proverbs 24:3-5) for generations to come. What we seek first needs to be last so that the last thing we desire creates so much value it endures for generations to come.
God has such a passion for us He would send His son on earth with one focus that He would die for us (John 3:16). It did not matter the rejection or the desertion by His own disciples. His passionate love was what drove Him to love people He knew would reject Him and nail Him to the cross; what a legacy!!
What difference does your daily walk create that last because it has value?