1 Cor. 10 v 13 and a "way out"

[Ian]

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

This is a sequel question to my previous post on the Lord`s Prayer.

Is this "way out" to be understood primarily as a spiritual resource? Of course my love for God should be the driving factor that stops me displeasing him by willfully sinning - clearly the case in the perfectly victorious Christian life!

But what if my love for God is not as muscularly developed as it should be? Those down-to-earth means that I use to keep myself "productive" - are they means that He has provided or merely my own invention? Are our (healthy) pre-occupations (assuming thery are capable of being used in God`s service) part of each man`s "way out" that has been provided? We each have our own gifts and weaknesses. I am as thick as two short planks compared to Steve - I read and read and read but it doesn`t stay in* - and that`s demotivating to me in the intellectual realm. But I have good physical energy, and an eye for a photograph as some of you have seen. It feels like there aren`t enough hours in the day to realise photographically the projects I`ve pre-conceived in my head. Is this God`s special provision to me or am I just fooling myself? I do realise that anything earthly can be a trojan horse when it comes to the spiritual life, that which remains after the rest has been burnt off.

*probably because I don`t chew on one thing for long enough, I admit!

PS - perhaps I may hone in on you Steve? You have a very full life in what you do, no doubt with barely enough hours in the day to accomplish what you would like. Is this "full life" part of your own "way out"? I guess I`m asking - is keeping busy at and focused on what you feel you are called to do a part of your "way out".

[Homer]

Hi Ian,

Perhaps I may comment, though you specifically asked Steve.

PS - perhaps I may hone in on you Steve? You have a very full life in what you do, no doubt with barely enough hours in the day to accomplish what you would like. Is this "full life" part of your own "way out"? I guess I`m asking - is keeping busy at and focused on what you feel you are called to do a part of your "way out".

This "keeping busy" I found to be very interesting. I recently sent Steve an old out of print book I thought he should have. The book is titled "Sunday" by Willy Rordorf and is a classic study regarding how Sunday became the Christian day of worship and later the day of rest, much as the sabbath had been. Rordorf tells of how the early Christians did not observe Sunday as a day of rest, although they worshipped on that day, but rather believed they must keep busy as idleness gave Satan an opportunity to tempt them into sin. Interesting isn't it?

God bless, Homer

[Ian]

Hi Homer,

Thanks.

You wrote:

but rather believed they must keep busy as idleness gave Satan an opportunity to tempt them into sin.

Yes, that is interesting. Do you remember reading how Rordorf deduced that - from Scripture? Could you look it up again, perhaps, or did you post your only copy to Steve?

[Homer]

Hi Ian,

Rordorf was not citing scripture but rather was relating what the practice of the earliest Christians was.

God bless, Homer

[Ian]

I suppose the motto is: be discliplined, busy and focused, but with half an eye to the Mary and Martha story!