It has officially been summer for about 2 weeks now. The weather has treated me very kindly except for the sun; apparently it enjoys burning my skin a lobster-red colour. I am all moved into my mom's “new house” (quotations around it because we rent; we call things of this nature ‘brand-used’). I have a full-time job now and am enjoying the sense of responsibility. Most importantly, God has been teaching me so much lately! I am becoming more aware of the changes I need to make in my life. Too many times I view myself as better off than those around me. God must favour me more because I don’t drink, smoke, go to parties, or listen to putrid music. God must love me because I read the Bible every day and don’t swear. I find that these thoughts are chaining me down, keeping me from growing more in my walk with the Lord. Think about it for a second…if I am viewing myself as so high and exalted, why would I need to strive to be more like Jesus? I am already good enough, right? NO! Good enough shouldn’t even be in my vocabulary.
Jesus doesn’t look at our “overall goodness”. Look at it this way: there’s a man who murders your mother. He comes before the judge and the judge looks at his records. This judge sees that the man helped an older person across the street and went to the nursing home to visit the elderly the day before. He then looks at the man and says, “You are innocent because of the good you did. Go free.” Would this judge be considered a good judge? (This analogy was first brought to my attention in the movie Courageous). This judge would be considered unfair, but Bible says that God is just and fair in all ways. He looks at the heart. Would God then let me be in his kingdom because I did a few righteous things in my life, or does he look at the bad as well?
Is my heart in tune with where God wants it to be? Am I letting my pride and self-centered personality take the best of me? Am I willing, right now, to surrender myself to Him once more?
Every day I need to surrender myself to God. I need to die to self daily; only then will my life be more pleasing to my Lord; only then will I be able to live as a witness to those in my sphere of influence. There are so many people that are close to me that I want to be with me in Heaven. My closest relatives have yet to fully surrender themselves to the Lord. I can’t nag and prod, poking them with a stick. I can’t dump fertilizer, water, and heaps of soil in expectance that their seed will grow in abundance. That will choke the seed and destroy any future hopes I have. I need to live a lifestyle that demonstrates what I believe. Before I can be a witness in my life to those around me, I need to know God as my best friend and my closest ally. How can I draw people to Him if I don’t know Him that well myself? God willing He will transform my life. All it takes is prayer and submission.
