Would it not be great if as Christ-followers, when we made the decision to turn our will and our life over to Him, the pits were “filled-in”; the sun always shined; we always made the right choices; and life was perpetually wonderful? While that sounds like paradise, and I believe such an experience is in our future, it unfortunately will not happen on this side of the grave. Why? Because we are living in this fallen world; and we are in the fleshly bodies; and as we are clearly warned in 1 Peter, 5:8: “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” There was a time in my life when I would have thought the last sentence was totally foolish; a religious “myth”. But that was when I was still ignorant of the truth. Today, I know without a doubt it is absolutely true!
Jesus never said this would be an easy journey. That’s why in Matthew 16:24, He said to his disciples: “If anyone wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross and follow me.” In other words we must die to ourselves and make a decision to live for Him, which is contrary to our carnal desires and the ways of the world. The truth is…that can only be achieved through humility. But James 4:10 proclaims the benefit of that pursuit: “Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up and give you honor.”
Revelation 12:10 reveals the ultimate blessing for those who make the choice to be a Christ-follower: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” It is clear Apostle John is referencing our spiritual condition (after death) when we are in the presence of the Lord. But we can also infer from that passage that we are in Paradise for eternity. How’s that for assurance?
I have written numerous times about God’s love-inspired salvation plan for us. Because God is Love, he didn’t wait for us to clean-up our act before he gave us his Gift of Grace. Romans 5:6 succinctly states: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for US sinners!” That verse unequivocally shows God’s unconditional, unending, unfailing love for us. And our ultimate show of trust and faith in Him is to accept his Gift. So for anyone trying to figure-out God’s will for your life, Acts 2:21 (or Romans 10:13) reveals the answer with sparkling clarity: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It’s not complicated, but it does require humility and surrender.
The dilemma of mankind since Creation has always been the issue of “sin”. It seems clear to me that since man kept sinking deeper and deeper into that ugly quagmire, God decided to do for us what we clearly could not do for ourselves. He sent a Redeemer, a sacrificial lamb, to pay the ransom for our sin. Now that we are sin-free in His eyes, we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven and spend eternity with Him, Jesus and all other Christ-followers because we are covered with the blood of Jesus. That is His promise to us.
Those two gifts, the forgiveness of sin and eternal life, are the two parts of God’s Salvation Plan that most often draw people to Christianity. And well they should! It is certainly Good News, and it certainly gives us peace about our eternal destiny. But there is another part of the Plan that many times doesn’t get equal billing. That is most un-fortunate because it is THE answer to how we can live the life God has called us to live in this fallen world…right here, right now.
As Christ-followers, we don’t have to wait until we die to begin experiencing God’s Kingdom on earth. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” In other words, our old nature (our “sin-nature”, or as our culture calls it, our “human-nature”) is taken away. We receive a new spirit, the Holy Spirit, who indwells us and empowers us to rise above this fallen world and live a life that is pleasing to God. Not only does God want us to live a live that brings honor and glory to him, but he empowers us to achieve that purpose. How awesome is that! As you can see…His Salvation Plan IS perfect!
I find it interesting that Step 2 of the Twelve Step Recovery Program tells us we “need a Higher Power to restore us to sanity”. And most recovery rooms are adorned with such pithy statements as “let go, let God” or “just turn it over.” All of those references are the right answer, but they fall short when it comes to telling us “how” to accomplish that purpose. As Christ-followers, we know we have the answer and we know how to use it. We can achieve the truth of those statements when we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to be the person God created us to be.
Let me point out one very important principle. The Holy Spirit does not do the work for us! The Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work, because it is in the process of “doing” that we mature as Christ-followers. So when we are faced with a challenging situation and are not sure how to proceed, we can call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with wisdom, courage, power, patience, perseverance… whatever it is we need to accomplish God’s purpose, and his promise to us is, “He will hear our prayers.” (1John 5:14-15)
One great Biblical truth to stand on in these matters is 1John 4:4: “He that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he that is in this world.” (satan) That verse tells us we are already victorious! Therefore, the more we know and experience God’s nature: that he is loving; that he wants a relationship with us; that he is merciful; that he is faithful; that he will never leave us or forsake us, the more we can step out in faith. We can (have the courage) to do that because we know we are standing on His truth and His promises.
Therefore, if we seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out (Step 11, AA), his promise to us is, “He will hear our prayers.” That, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, is how we live a Christian life in this fallen world. It is not through our own effort, but by letting Jesus Christ (the Holy Spirit) live his life through us. That is the mystery revealed of being in Christ.
May God Bless ya, and feel free to respond to this post.
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Biess you too Dan…..