I’ve heard it many times before. But what does it mean?
The Gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. That one sentence sums it up. Sweet, simple, free and true. I have also heard it this way: Jesus died for my sin and your sin. And to prove it, He was buried and rose again! This is not as short but addresses a bit more detail.
My life before I met Jesus
I grew up in home where the # 1 rule my dad gave my family was that we did not discuss politics or religion. So I lived a Godless life.
I lived to serve myself and no one else. I was the example of rebellion.
How I came to accept Jesus into my life:
I met my wife after high school. My life was headed nowhere fast. Her family was faithful church members. I knew if I wanted to date her, if have to go to church.
During a church conference on the book of Revelation, I understood and accepted that Jesus Christ died for me, for my sins, was buried and rose again.
My Life since Jesus came in:
My attitudes and perspectives on everything changed. Serving others became more important than serving myself.
The road was not easy. I allowed old habits creep back in and I turned away from God, stopped going to church. But God never left me and always created opportunities for me to return to Him.
My life is immeasurable better because of Him. I am happiest when I am obedient to His Word.
My hosting site (my home server) and my ISP did not get along. I was too busy to reconfigure everything, so I allowed this blog to lapse.
Back on track now…
“He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side …” (Mark 6:45)
We tend to think that if Jesus Christ compels us to do something and we are obedient to Him, He will lead us to great success. We should never have the thought that our dreams of success are God’s purpose for us. In fact, His purpose may be exactly the opposite. We have the idea that God is leading us toward a particular end or a desired goal, but He is not. The question of whether or not we arrive at a particular goal is of little importance, and reaching it becomes merely an episode along the way. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself.
What is my vision of God’s purpose for me? Whatever it may be, His purpose is for me to depend on Him and on His power now. If I can stay calm, faithful, and unconfused while in the middle of the turmoil of life, the goal of the purpose of God is being accomplished in me. God is not working toward a particular finish—His purpose is the process itself. What He desires for me is that I see “Him walking on the sea” with no shore, no success, nor goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is all right because I see “Him walking on the sea” (6:49). It is the process, not the outcome, that is glorifying to God.
God’s training is for now, not later. His purpose is for this very minute, not for sometime in the future. We have nothing to do with what will follow our obedience, and we are wrong to concern ourselves with it. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.
God’s purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious.