http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians+2:2&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+17:7&version=NIV1984
I came across the following post by Terry Stanley of Home Church Help the other day. Since it was so I thought I would re-post it here. He gives permission on his site to do this. Enjoy.
On a personal note, I am definitely still maturing and growing in the Lord and I have a long way to go. But when I was a younger Christian man I knew exactly what I believed in every area of Scripture. I made it a point to form an opinion in every area and on every topic. I had my list of personal doctrines. I knew where I stood on every issue and I had Scripture to back it all up. I could argue a point and not back down. I called this spiritual ‘maturity’. And the more I learned and fortified my positions on various doctrines, the more I thought I was growing in God. But then something began to happen to me.
I soon learned that my theology and stances on doctrine didn’t help me very much during difficult and painful times. All I could do during these desperate hours was to fall apart and call out to the Lord to help me. I didn’t really know it, but this is when I truly began to grow. I began to get to know the Lord. He was all that I had. During these times of travail and breakthrough of the Lord rescuing me I encountered Jesus Christ Himself many times. I didn’t care about all of my theologies during my times of desperation. As I began to have more and more times of being in the presence of the Lord desperate for His help and comfort and tasting of His great love – I cared less and less about everything. Everything but Him.
On a personal note, I am definitely still maturing and growing in the Lord and I have a long way to go. But when I was a younger Christian man I knew exactly what I believed in every area of Scripture. I made it a point to form an opinion in every area and on every topic. I had my list of personal doctrines. I knew where I stood on every issue and I had Scripture to back it all up. I could argue a point and not back down. I called this spiritual ‘maturity’. And the more I learned and fortified my positions on various doctrines, the more I thought I was growing in God. But then something began to happen to me.
I soon learned that my theology and stances on doctrine didn’t help me very much during difficult and painful times. All I could do during these desperate hours was to fall apart and call out to the Lord to help me. I didn’t really know it, but this is when I truly began to grow. I began to get to know the Lord. He was all that I had. During these times of travail and breakthrough of the Lord rescuing me I encountered Jesus Christ Himself many times. I didn’t care about all of my theologies during my times of desperation. As I began to have more and more times of being in the presence of the Lord desperate for His help and comfort and tasting of His great love – I cared less and less about everything. Everything but Him.
Most of my theological positions, my answers to defend my beliefs, and the proofs that I had developed to argue the faith – were really only a house of cards. Concerning many popular doctrines, I had some really great arguments. But I learned that my arguments were really only good for one thing – getting into arguments with people.
If you continue to follow Christ, at some point in your journey you will become fully convinced that it is the foundations and basics of the faith that become all important – humility, trust, brokenness, contrition, and believing the good news of Jesus and His love through and through. To fully give ourselves to these foundational things of the Christian faith (the things that actually rid us of all self and bring us into the presence of Jesus) these are the only things that will weather the great storms of life. These are the only things that help us to truly experience the Lord on a daily basis. These are the only things that cooperate with our heart being filled with His joy and His great love. And these are the only things that empower us to love others consistently and with endurance.
When we are in the very presence of the living God, during those moments, we simply do not care that much about anything else. He is mesmerizing. As we are in the Lord’s presence, we are caught up with His great love and magnificence. So, why do we care so much about other things so much of the time? Why do we care so much about our doctrines, our ‘ism’s’ and our theology? If being in His presence brings us to care only for Him, then if we are constantly caring for other things besides Him, we are not truly living and walking in His presence very much at all. If we are not breaking through often to trust from the heart and encounter the Lord Jesus in a real way, our Christianity becomes nothing more than a hobby of ideas. We are left with only a ‘belief system’.
Instead of vessels who are filled with God Himself, we merely become a vessel full of opinions and ‘concepts’. The world’s opinions about politics, lifestyle, the economy, theology, or opinions about various controversies does little to change people’s lives, or our own lives. Only the person of Jesus Christ can change a person for the better. Only Jesus is wisdom. Only in Christ are we in need of nothing.
We can only give away what we have. If all we have are doctrines, ologies, and ism’s, then that is all we will have to give away to someone else. But if we are encountering the Lord Jesus Christ in a consistent and real way, then it will be Jesus Himself that we will have to give away to others. When we truly meet with the risen God, He permeates our soul, our minds, and our bodies. It is just like when Moses came down from the mountain after being in the presence of God. His face was noticeably shining from being in the presence of the Lord (Ex 34:29-30).
As we meet with Jesus, His warmth and love will fill our hearts. Therefore others will find us warm and inviting. Both His wisdom and simplicity will become a part of us. Because of this, others will taste of the wisdom and simplicity within our souls. As we are in His presence, we will know the reality of His steadfast love and patience. Likewise, our forbearance and patience with others will be completely supernatural. Our hospitality for others will be evident to all because the Lord would have personally been giving to us and comforting us. Others will be drawn to the stability they taste in us, because we will actively know Christ who is the Rock. Others will feel a certain security and trust when being around us, because we ourselves have been experiencing the security and surety of His steadfast love.
Lord, help me to realize that when it’s all said and done, everything is about You. You are not just the ‘main thing’, You are the only thing. Help me to pursue being in Your presence. And may being in Your presence transform me into who You want me to be. For Your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment