Two comments made on call-in radio shows yesterday stuck in my head. A woman cooed, "Jesus never turned away anybody." And a centenarian declared, "Everything you do is a choice."
So, I can serve everybody and be like Jesus. That is a choice. But is it the best choice? And is that really true? This morning I realized that being like Jesus is about more than people. It's about more than service. It's about managing my life in a way that honors and pleases Him; being a vessel fitted for His use.
Miles J. Stanford gives new perspective to the this concept when he writes:
"Our Father is not seeking to abolish us as human beings and have the Lord Jesus replace us. He is seeking to restore us as human personalities so that we may be the vehicle through which Christ will express Himself. Therefore you find that whenever God gets hold of a man, instead of abolishing his personality, He makes it what He intended it to be.
"Redemption is the recovery of the man, Not the destruction of the man. And when the Lord Jesus in us is brought to the place He is aiming for, there will not be an atom of the old life left, but the man will be left--glorified in union with the Lord Jesus Christ." (The Complete Green Letters, p. 180).
Then, this morning after reading in Matthew, as I blended pumpkin bread ingredients for our ladies' workday at church, I remembered my own checkpoint for being too busy. I am too busy when my weaknesses bite me in the behind.
My priority relationship is with God. When that time is pushed aside, when I don't have control of my thoughts or the desire to invest in Him each morning and throughout the day, I'm too busy.
My next priority is my husband. When I am unable to serve him and put him ahead of my schedule and other demands, I'm too busy. (This is my gotcha! and, at the moment, I'm too busy....)
Weight has always been a struggle. When I fail to eat right and exercise because "I don't have time," I'm too busy.
Each child has a full, one-hundred-percent-experience of life. When I don't hear or register what is important to them and what is happening in their hearts and minds, I'm too busy.
And our home. I enjoy having a clean, orderly home. And I don't even mind the work. It's just that other things seems more important.... When I'm too busy to manage our home with cleanliness and excellence, I'm too busy.
Now for the hard part: saying "no." I think that was in Jesus' vocabulary, too. It all comes down to deciding who is most important. When I fill my life with things that make me feel good, with people who pat me on the back, with activities that tickle my fancy, I am pleasing myself. When I allow Christ to control those areas where I am lacking, my life reflects His approval and design as most important and I am pleasing Him. How does that ditty go? "Just two choices on the shelf, choosing God or choosing self" (Ken Collier).
So, I can serve everybody and be like Jesus. That is a choice. But is it the best choice? And is that really true? This morning I realized that being like Jesus is about more than people. It's about more than service. It's about managing my life in a way that honors and pleases Him; being a vessel fitted for His use.
Miles J. Stanford gives new perspective to the this concept when he writes:
"Our Father is not seeking to abolish us as human beings and have the Lord Jesus replace us. He is seeking to restore us as human personalities so that we may be the vehicle through which Christ will express Himself. Therefore you find that whenever God gets hold of a man, instead of abolishing his personality, He makes it what He intended it to be.
"Redemption is the recovery of the man, Not the destruction of the man. And when the Lord Jesus in us is brought to the place He is aiming for, there will not be an atom of the old life left, but the man will be left--glorified in union with the Lord Jesus Christ." (The Complete Green Letters, p. 180).
Then, this morning after reading in Matthew, as I blended pumpkin bread ingredients for our ladies' workday at church, I remembered my own checkpoint for being too busy. I am too busy when my weaknesses bite me in the behind.
My priority relationship is with God. When that time is pushed aside, when I don't have control of my thoughts or the desire to invest in Him each morning and throughout the day, I'm too busy.
My next priority is my husband. When I am unable to serve him and put him ahead of my schedule and other demands, I'm too busy. (This is my gotcha! and, at the moment, I'm too busy....)
Weight has always been a struggle. When I fail to eat right and exercise because "I don't have time," I'm too busy.
Each child has a full, one-hundred-percent-experience of life. When I don't hear or register what is important to them and what is happening in their hearts and minds, I'm too busy.
And our home. I enjoy having a clean, orderly home. And I don't even mind the work. It's just that other things seems more important.... When I'm too busy to manage our home with cleanliness and excellence, I'm too busy.
Now for the hard part: saying "no." I think that was in Jesus' vocabulary, too. It all comes down to deciding who is most important. When I fill my life with things that make me feel good, with people who pat me on the back, with activities that tickle my fancy, I am pleasing myself. When I allow Christ to control those areas where I am lacking, my life reflects His approval and design as most important and I am pleasing Him. How does that ditty go? "Just two choices on the shelf, choosing God or choosing self" (Ken Collier).
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