Tomorrow marks week three in my return to Boston and life has been more busy and complicated than I would have thought. Futato! (That is for my Florida friends) Blogging has not been on the top of the priority list. To be honest, I haven't had much to say in the past three weeks for a number of reasons. Don't worry, life is good. God is good. If anything, I feel strongly that God used my time in Florida to prepare me for the things I would face upon my return to Boston. He is truly generous and gracious.
My friends Kyle and Emily sent me some photos from our time down south today and it reminded me of my desire to unpack some of what I learned there here on the ol' blog. One of the many things that I've continued to process is the reality of, if you will, God's bigness. I have enjoyed looking at the Bible as ONE story. The story of God's glory and our redemption from Genesis to Revelation. I have been encouraged as I have understood how much God truly loves people and in spite of His highness, He has chosen to come down to our level through the person of Christ, that we would know Him personally and have a relationship with Him. It is amazing to me that God would choose to reveal Himself to us in ways we can understand because He wants to have a relationship.
Now, these aren't new ideas or thoughts, but what has become more beautiful to me about these truths is seeing how it really matters and plays out in my life. In light of understanding who God is in light of His story, how much more do I desire to love Him, serve Him, trust Him and obey Him! After all, He is the only one who is worthy of my worship and of my life. Yet, I have many idols. I see this clearly in my life. It is frustrating at times to recognize that I fail to truly walk with God because I choose other things over Him. I have other priorities, I obey other masters and honestly, I am self-centered.
While away, I had many great conversations, but one that I'm still mulling over today. One night I was talking with a friend whom I have come to respect greatly about God's call to those who love Him in paraphrase: if you love Me, keep my commandments. He and I talked about how simple it seems to be... If I love God, I will keep/obey His commandments. Yet, living in light of this by choosing to obey is often a different story. What's interesting is that obeying God stems from a life that loves God. If you love Me... Obey...
One of the things he expressed really struck me and here's a little snipet of what I took away from it. In the church today we are very focused on the truth that Christ loves us. In fact, we talk about grace and mercy frequently. These things are true of the gospel. What is often left out however, is the reality that, coupled with grace, God calls believers to a higher standard. If we have indeed chosen Christ - we have a relationship with Him - we have embraced grace and mercy through His life, death and resurrection - we are called to be disciples. What does this look like?
Well, a lot of things actually. In the New Testament we see that Jesus promises suffering to those who follow Him. We are called to be like Christ, to grow, to willingly submit to Him and to one another. Now, don't get me wrong.... I'm not saying that we need to look for things like suffering, because honestly, God brings these things into our lives for the purpose of sanctification. God desires that we would be like Christ and it's not an easy process. BUT, it is a worthy process.
Moreso, as he and I continued to talk, it was neat to hear his perspective on desiring to love God and obey His commands. Isn't this what the Christian life is all about? God has done, continues to do, really, incredible things on our behalf. He is the Almighty. He is Sovereign. He has created all that we see and know. He sought a way to redeem us when we utterly turned away from Him so that we would not be utterly forsaken. He is life. He is King.
I reflect on these things and I cannot help but desire to love Him. He is so worthy of my love and devotion and not because of what He has done so much as because of who He is. His actions demonstrate the truth of who He is at the core. Obedience stems from this place of love for Him. Why would I want to disobey God when He has the best way? I mean, to disobey means that I think my way is better. I know more. I have the plan. But the truth is, I am broken because of my sin and realistically, I am finite. I don't know all. I am not all powerful. So, why would I desire anything else?
That's a great question. But, I do. This is the struggle of the Christian life. Why do I do what I do given that Christ has given me everything? Why? I'm torn between my flesh and the Spirit that dwells in me. Why does Paul tell us in Romans 6, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."
I long to live this new life. I don't want a watered down faith that doesn't give me the full picture. I am forgiven. Christ did the work. He lived a perfect life, died a horrible death on that cross taking the sin of the world upon Himself and He rose again to bring new life. I need to live in light of this sacrifice. Loving God and obeying His commands. It still sounds simple and I know it's not.
Thinking it over these past weeks has caused me to consider once again the power of the Spirit-filled life. I am unable to do these things on my own and it's why Jesus sent the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, so that we would be able to live in light of our freedom and obey God. That we would choose rightly. Wisely. And, that in loving God, we would keep His commandments. I find that I'm encouraged to know that God desires for me to keep His commands and that He provides a way for me to do it. It's not a perfect process for me in life. I still sin. I fail. Yet, as I am being sanctified, I have hope. One day, I will be glorified. The sufferings of this present time will cease and I will meet Jesus face to face.
It's amazing. What a faith! What a hope!
I'm sure there is more to share and I'll try to do it sometime soon.
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