"The Christian life can be explained only in terms of Jesus Christ, and if your life as a Christian can still be explained in terms of you--
your personality, your willpower, your gift, your talent, your money, your courage, your scholarship, your dedication, your sacrifice, or your anything---
then although you may have the Christian life,
you are not yet living it."
-----------Ian Thomas
The world tell us that a woman fully alive to herself is a woman truly beautiful. Watch out for this lie. For the Bible tells us that a woman completely dead to herself is to be alive in Christ.
The world is telling us, and the church seems to be buying into the lie, that we can simply 'tack on' our Christianity to our self indulgent lifestyles. We'll wear one piece swimsuits instead of bikinis and idolize Christian bands instead of listening to secular music.
We won't send our children to public school but we also won't take upon ourselves the responsibility of Deut. 6 to teach them daily as we live our lives before them in complete surrender to self.
We'll preach morality at the expense of losing sight of the true Christian life, one of complete and utter abandonment to the One who died for us and deserves nothing less than our all in all.
I must decrease so that he might increase. John 3:30
more GREAT thoughts and ideas!
ReplyDelete"Not about you"--love it!
ReplyDeleteAnd your commentary--wow! So true! If our standards are only a "little higher" than those of the world (yet miles below God's) then we are far off the mark and our focus is in the wrong place, isn't it?! I once heard that repentance involves turning and going in a different direction, but if we are going in a different direction by looking back at others, we still aren't going in the right direction. This applies to so many areas of our life--if I just 'stay married' in contrast to the world, I am falling short of the mark of a loving relationship that shows a prototype of Christ and His Bride. If I just keep my kids off drugs and not pregnant, then I miss the mark of pointing my children to Christ. If I just keep my kids out of the public school, then I miss the mark of keeping their hearts, building their character, and helping them use their minds to God's glory.
It goes on and on, doesn't it?! Seems to me 'full surrender' is a constant process--not a place at which we arrive.