I started my journey a long time ago and then, at the same time, not so long ago at all. I asked Jesus into my heart in 1995. I went to church from that point forward. I went to Bible college and received my ministry degree. But still, with all that, I don't feel I was intentional about getting to know Christ until the past couple of years. Before that, I think my goal was to do the right thing. My focus was perfection, works... being a "good" Christian. Now I'm realizing more and more how blinded and bound I was all those years. I was trying to DO so much that I was missing the point. Don't get me wrong, doing is good. Faith without works is indeed dead. However, works without faith is exhausting and pointless. I'm coming to understand that faith in Christ is more than thinking that he can perform miracles. It's more than believing that He exists. It's more than believing that He has saved me or that He answers prayers... Faith is knowing that Jesus is and will always be. Faith is when things don't go my way, the way I've prayed hard they will go, and I still know without a doubt that He is still God, He is still able, and He still loves me. Faith is living the way He desires for me to live because I trust that He has my best interest at heart and knows what will bring me joy and peace.
Faith isn't easy. My view of God is so wrapped up in tradition and experience that it's hard for me to trust Him. When I think of God as Father I unintentionally make a comparison between Him and my earthly fathers. When I think of Jesus as a brother I compare Him with my brother. When I think of God as a friend I compare Him with my friends. And because of the churches I've attended in my past I tend to think of God as some Santa Clause who knows when I've been naughty or nice and heaps out blessings or curses accordingly. And then I think about all the times in my life when people have withdrawn their love from me because I had failed them and I reason in my very human, very limited mind that God is doing the same. Then, of course, I condemn myself and get discouraged and I take a break from trying to build this Jesus relationship because I am not yet perfect enough to be in relationship with someone so perfect.
A. W. Tozer in his book Knowledge of the Holy makes the statement that "the essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him". He makes the point that if we form an image of God in our mind that is based on anything that we can imagine then we are not thinking rightly about God because he is very far from someone any human can imagine or understand. I'm so guilty of the sin of idolatry. The image of God that I have in my head is flawed. My worship is the worship of an image I've created. My prayer is to an image that I created. My witness is of an image that I created. I don't do it on purpose and it reminds me of how very far I have to go. I will never have a perfect view of him. I will always need to ask him to "create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit within me". It's fine though I guess. I should never lose sight of the fact that I am a broken, sinful mess and He is my only salvation. I should never lose sight that if I am going to do "all things" it's going to have to be "through Christ who strengthens me". I want to sin less but I need it to be because I trust that God's desire for my separation from the world is because He desires for me to be joined with Him. I am working towards reading my bible more, praying more, and giving more but no longer because I want to be a good Christian or do the right things or follow the rules but because I want to know Jesus and in order to know Jesus I have to put myself in a position to get to know Him.
Here's what I know so far: Jesus is the image of the invisible God, that same image of God that man was created in in the beginning, and it's not a physical image; but one of the very nature of God, an image of "righteousness and holiness of truth" (see Eph. 4:24, Col. 1:15, and Heb. 1:3). And I know, that one of the desires of God for my life is for me to get to know that image, to get to know and be in relationship with Christ. And another desire is for me to put on that image and bear that imagine in a world that also desperately needs to know Him. It's a journey that will never end to a destination that can never be reached.
~Written By Rebecca D. Campbell
Very well said "It's a journey that will never end to a destination that can never be reached."
ReplyDeleteWe must strive EVERY DAY to be more and more like Christ. We must put forth the effort EVERY DAY to bear His image. We will never reach the point where we fully know or understand Him and all His GLORY and MAGNIFICENCE and POWER and LOVE!