This Sentence has Blown My Mind

"Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exagerate." Francis Chan, Crazy Love

spend some time just pondering what this sentence means. it is changing my life

-matt

Romans 12

¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love

⁹Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

A Brief but Worthy Challenge

First, an excerpt from The Signature of Jesus by Brennan Manning out of Chapter 6, entited Discipleship Today.

"There are certain questions that every Christian must answer in utter candor. Do you hunger for Jesus Christ? Do you yearn to spend time alone with him in prayer? Is he the most important person in your life? Does he fill your soul like a song of joy? Is he on your lips as a shout of praise? Do you eagerly turn to his memoirs, his Testament, to learn more of him? Are you making the effort to die daily to anything and everything that inhibits, threatens, or diminishes your friendship?" (Manning 106)

The first time I read over that list I thought "hmm, thats a really good section." I kept reading, or rather tried to. But God just kept drawing me back to that passage. I couldn't turn the page. And I was just grabbed by the Spirit and compelled to answer the challenge Brennan put in front of me. The challenge that Christ calls us to each and every day, to evalutate our relationship with him and what needs to grow or change. So I got my journal and simply went straight down the list being as brutally honest as I could with myself. Evaluation does nothing if it doesn't come from the heart, where the crux of the problem comes from. So my challenge to you is this: grab a sheet of paper, journal, microsoft word even, and write down these questions replacing each "you" with "I" and such, making these statements personal. Then answer the questions. Be blunt, be honest, if not then don't waste your time. A half-truth is no better than a lie because neither are true. Then after you have answered them the next task is to create action steps. Figure out some concrete things that you can do tomorrow (or even today) to improve your relationship with Christ. Then get someone to hold you accountable. Maybe thats a friend, a pastor, a family member, etc. Figure out what the problem is then take every step you can to fix it.

Christ calls us to live our lives in a radical way, exclusively for his glory. Let's all take a step back to be sure that we're running in the right direction. Be bold.

-matt