We learned Sunday that it is possible to live the "Christian" life without having Christ at the center of our lives. This can happen most easily when we reduce Christianity to simply theology (knowledge about God) and rule (keeping the moral code of Christ). It becomes Christianity that is missing Christ! How bizarre is that? What is incredibly dangerous about this is that if Christ is not at the center, something else will be! What is it that competes for the center of your life? Can we be transparent enough to share?
3 comments:
I think it's just the busyness of life in general for me. I had a pastor tell me that if Satan can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. How true that is! It's a struggle to keep Christ in the center when the demands of life push Him out. I struggle with finding time for my spiritual development; it always seems like something else always comes up.
Too much crammed in the day is a huge factor, but for me it goes a bit deeper after really letting the question marinate for a while. I always seem to find time for the things I love to do- probably because I have complete faith that the time invested will produce a dividend; some kind of personal satisfaction, usually. I think I actually have the time, but the spending choice is not always the optimal one for spiritual growth. The really interesting thing is, when I do invest the time towards spiritual growth, it is always more personally satisfying than the other seemingly fun choices. Knowing that experientially, why don't I go there more often? I've thought about that a lot. I can only come to the same conclusion Paul did in Romans 7: "It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge."
What can I say but thank God for grace!
Wow! Well said! So true! And along those lines...the thing I often CHOOSE (good point, Amy) is just as simple as an extra 30 min sleep in the morning instead of getting up for my quiet time... because I CHOSE to watch Jay Leno instead of going to sleep the night before! Simple, but deadly to "Godly Nancy!"
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