Balance. Juggle. Stay balanced. Juggle some more. Almost lost balance, regained it, still juggling…
Does this sound familiar to you? What if this was not just a fun show where you are watching a juggler keep their balls in the air, but a picture of your life, and therefore far more complicated than a standard five-ball cascade? What if it wasn’t just five balls in the air but 25 balls? What if the balls were all different sizes and shapes? Does that sound like a better picture of life?
Life is a juggle and balance is essential in keeping all the balls in the air. We believe that the key to achieving and maintaining balance is to keep these five balls in the proper order of priority and to choose the right “higher power”. All but one “higher power” will demand more from you and make your juggle harder. One will lighten your load and strengthen you. (More on this in the Spirit ball)
Here we have given our brief definition and explanation of each of these balls of life and tried to identify some of the smaller balls contained within each larger one. We recognize that every individual will have to define each of these balls for themselves and that each will have their own order of priority and balancing points. We hope you will find our thoughts on them helpful in forming or tweaking your own.
Where does one begin?! We gave it the simple definition of “one’s relationship with their ‘higher power’” because we felt it was important to keep it very vague. Every individual must decide for themselves who or what their “higher power” is. We all have one, even if it is ourselves. Once you have decided who or what your “higher power” is then you must define your relationship to/with them and the priority that they have in your life and with that what the smaller balls contained within this larger ball are and what they look like.
Our “higher power” is God in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (who is Jesus the Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. We hold to the Christian faith that says God is our Creator, Savior, and Lord. This is the One God who gave His only begotten Son (Jesus) to take on human flesh and live a perfect life so that He could be the acceptable sacrifice to die in our place and then 3 days later come to life again thereby opening the way for us to have eternal life with Him, His Father, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that all have sinned and are therefore sinners in need of a savior. The only way of salvation is by faith alone accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. This acceptance of His work brings us into a relationship with Him. He promises that his burden is easy and His yolk is light. When He asks anything of us, He also gives us all we need to follow through and obey Him. He makes our juggle easier. (If you want to enter into a relationship with this God please see the A, B, C’s of Salvation.)
For all of these reasons and so much more, our relationship with God, and thus our submission to Him, is our number one priority. This relationship influences our perspective on life and every decision that we make. We hold that the Bible is His inspired Word and the final authority on all things. We also hold the belief that the principles given in the Bible work regardless of one’s belief in it or its Author.
The Large Spirit ball is our relationship with God. The small balls contained within it are formed by our desire to grow in our relationship with Him and to make our relationship with Him evident to others. They look like personal quiet times where we spend time with Him prayer and the Bible, corporate times of worship and study with other believers at church and at home, and teaching our children about what we believe while appropriately exposing them to other beliefs so that they can form their own spirit ball, and sharing this good news freely with all who will listen.
