He took the twelve aside… Luke 18:31
JUST IMAGINE the bravery of God in trusting us!
Do I hear you weaseling say, “But He has been unwise to choose me, because there is nothing good in me and I have no value”?
That is exactly why He chose you! As long as you think that you are of value to Him, He cannot choose you, because you have purposes of your own to serve.
But if you will allow Him to take you to the end of your own self–sufficiency, then He can choose you to go with Him “to Jerusalem” (Luke 18:31).
And that will mean the fulfillment of purposes which He does not discuss with you.
We tend to say that because a person has natural ability, he will make a good Christian.
It is not a matter of our equipment, but a matter of our poverty;
not of what we bring with us, but of what God puts into us;
not a matter of natural virtues, of strength of character, of knowledge, or of experience— all of that is of no avail in this concern.
The only thing of value is being taken into the compelling purpose of God and being made His friends (see 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ). God’s friendship is with people who know their poverty. He can accomplish nothing with the person who thinks that he is of use to God.
As Christians we are not here for our own purpose at all— we are here for the purpose of God, and the two are not the same.
We do not know what God’s compelling purpose is, but whatever happens, we must maintain our relationship with Him.
We must never allow anything to damage our relationship with God, but if something does damage it, we must take the time to make it right again.
BOTTOM LINE:
The most important aspect of Christianity is not the work we do, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP WE MAINTAIN AND THE SURROUNDING INFLUENCE AND QUALITIES PRODUCED BY THAT RELATIONSHIP. That is all God asks us to give our attention to, and it is the one thing that is CONTINUALLY under attack.
Oswald Chamber’s Wisdom:
God created man to be master of the life in the earth and sea and sky, and the reason he is not is because he took the law into his own hands, and became master of himself, but of NOTHING ELSE! From The Shadow of an Agony, 1163 L
NEXT UP: Seriously, Whoever Would Teach on Disillusionment?