Article I did for the Ellerslie Post.
I come to Christ in such a pitiful and utterly unattractive state of being. I come to Him having done everything to offend and hurt Him and nothing that has even remotely brought Him glory. My warmest thought of Him is cold. I just can't make myself passionate for Him. And yet that's all I've tried to do. I've tried to do things for Him, I've tried to love Him - I want it so bad! I want Him, I want life in Him. But I can't crucify this flesh that is ruling over me. And yet with flesh, I can't have Him. Light and darkness can't dwell together in the same place. I'm a slave to darkness and selfishness - I'm in bondage. I just can't do the things of Christ. I can't bring Him glory. Why? Why can't I break myself? I know the only way to come is in brokenness but I feel so hardened. This situation is impossible. I just can't do it! I can say I'm a Christian but I'm not the full possession of Christ. If every thought, word, and action is not directed by Him, If every thing I do is not done specifically for His glory, if my whole point of living is not to bring Him glory, if every part of me is not overcome by Him, then I'm simply not Christ's possession. The only way to truly live a Christian life is to live in perfection. Self has no part in perfection.
If I were to stop here it would seem that the situation is impossible, but even through all my inadequacies, my huge amount of failure, and my muddy heart - there is hope. His name is Jesus Christ, and He accomplished something absolutely phenominal when He died on the cross. Something which can and will make me perfect in the sight of God. The flesh in me makes me unable to follow Christ and live in His perfection. But my Jesus has taken all of my inadequacies onto Himself and they were crucified with Him. His body was broken and it accomplished the breaking of my flesh. No, I couldn't break myself, I couldn't crucify myself, but He could and did. He bought me at the highest price that can be placed on anything - the blood of God.
Included in the purchase of the cross, is everything that is me - my life, my mortal body, my thoughts, my personality, my feelings, my heart, my soul, my all. Anything to do with who I am is now owned by Christ. If I yield to Him, He will come into my being and I will be covered by His blood and from henceforth will be owned and operated by Christ Himself. All that I am will be swallowed up in everything He is.
The turning point is what I choose to do with this knowledge. I must believe that the Son of God did in fact purchase me - heart, body, mind and soul. In order to see change, Christ must become the center of my existence. Just like the sun is at the center of the solar system and brings all the other planets into orbit, placing the Son of God at the center of my life will bring everything I say, think, and do into alignment with the perfect life Christ has for me to live.
Now I see the purpose of my life in Christ - being wholly possessed by Christ alone to constantly bring Him glory. Now, all of my thoughts ought to follow the pattern of Philippians 4:8; Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things I allow my mind to dwell on should be always, only for His glory!
In the same way, every word that comes out of my mouth is to come only at the direction of my Lord -always pure, uplifting, and loving. Any rebuke should be conveyed in a loving manner and only at the direction of the Holy Spirit. My words should point others toward Christ and His goodness, never lifting me up or glorifying me in any way. Any good works that comes out of me are only a result of Christ dwelling in my heart. My words are all useless, but every word of His, that is directed by Him, is perfect.
In everything I do, my life should bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus Christ. There are so many things that happen in a day, many things that need to be done. And yet even these everyday things ought to be done for Him. The motive behind each of my actions is of the utmost importance. There is a way to do good things in the wrong way or for the wrong reason. Prayer, for example, is a beautiful thing and it is something that we, as Christians, are to do all the time. But when we are praying with selfishness, constantly asking God only for the things we want or praying in public just so others can hear how spiritual our prayers sound, we are not bringing glory to God. We should do things for Him and not for anyone else. Even if no one ever knows how much we have given up or how hard we have worked, we should be completely content knowing what we have done is for our King and He is pleased.
Jesus Christ is all - He is the answer to my weakness, filth and hardness. He is love and He will be love through me. When I focus my eyes completely on Him and don't worry about anything else in the world, I will be filled to overflowing with all of Him - His Joy, His passion, His kindness, His compassion, His heart. Christ and Christ alone is who brings me to a place of brokenness, cleanses my heart, and fills me with the perfection of Him. He is my All in all!
