Pivot point. What is it?
Take a see-saw. It has one. The see-saw won’t work without its pivot point, that center position attached to a brace that allows the two ends to rise and fall, creating a pleasure pier of fun for kiddos from Maine to Manhattan Beach, California.
Enough of the fun. Let’s talk about work. Look at a lever. Whether we call it a tire iron, a crow bar, or a paint can opener, it works on the same principle. We put pressure on one end, the point in between changes the direction of our force, and the opposite end gets the work done.
What about prayer? Do our prayers operate around a pivot point? If so, what result do we get out the other end? Is it all about fun, or do we want to accomplish work as an outcome of our effort?
Let’s look at 1 John 5:16 to begin our search for our answer.
“If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.”
First, for a see-saw to work, you need a person on each end. One person can’t have any fun on a see-saw. He’ll sit there without moving all day long, bored to the end of time. We’ve got to make that connection, to have someone else participate with us.
Second, we have to push with our feet. It’s a give and take. Both people have to participate. If the size of each child is similar, it’s easier, but with enough effort, even children of vastly different sizes can have fun on a see-saw.
But what if one person doesn’t want to play? Easy. It’s game over. Done. Kaput. There’s no more fun, no matter how hard the first person wants to continue the activity.
John says to play the game and never give up. Our result isn’t simply enjoyment or an opened can of paint. It’s life. We’re on our prayer see-saw, sending out our prayers on one end, with God as our pivot point, and the people we know on the other end; and we want them to know life through Christ Jesus. It’s a game we must play every day of our lives.
Yet, sometimes the person we’re playing with decides it’s game over, and they jump off the see-saw. They choose the sin that leads to death. What’s our option in that case? John is the one that summed it up best:
“I do not say that one should pray for that.”
Pivot point. People can choose to go one way or another, to God, or to the evil one. It’s the way of Christ, or the way of the world. It all hinges around God, for he is our pivot point. We have to remain on the see-saw if we want to make it to heaven. If we step off, it’s game over, and there’s no more hope for us.
Let’s pivot toward Jesus. He’s the only game on the playground.
We may find our lives lifted high or crashed to the bottom, but when we are attached to Christ, we will always be centered on him.
Copyright © 2015 MyChurchNotes.net
Code: FGO.H.01.15.vp.esv