I always thought that the question you had to ask yourself when faced with the gospel of Jesus Christ was, "Do you believe it?" or more plainly, "Do you believe in God?" I thought that as long as my answer was "yes," that everything was dandy. My salvation is sealed, right? After all, most evangelists are more concerned with that heaven and hellfire bit. God is merely waiting up in his celestial salon ready to rapture your ass, right? I believe in God, aaaaaaand done! We can all move on. Maybe once in a while, talk to some people and see what they think, but by and large, your responsibilities and worries are over. Right? Not quite.
I think that people for generations have been asking the wrong question. The question is not whether or not we've come to faith about who God is, but,
"Have you come to faith about who you are?"
Why else do we look to others to tell us who we are? We wear name brands, we rely on social status, we listen to genres of music or hide behind categorical vocations. Sooner or later you realize that none of that sticks, and none of that lasts, and none of it is sufficient to define the nuanced intricacy and unique qualities that make up who you really are.
Have you come to faith about who God says that you are?
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:18
Before you were anything else, you were a son or daughter to Him. Even after you tallied all your accomplishments and hung your medals and trumpeted your successes or failures, you still remain a son or daughter. Christians and non-Christians alike live most of their lives failing to realize or accept this. The greatest tragedy is not whether or not you acknowledge God to be who He is, it is that you never acknowledge who you are in Him.
Like it or not, God knows who He is. He's not lost. He's not confused. He's not up there having panic attacks and identity crises every couple of years, or every time someone says, "Oh my GOD" or "Jesus H Christ." It's His children who are lost -- following no specific agenda, and wasting away their gifts and potential trying to figure out their life's calling.
It finally made sense to me today that if I truly came to faith and actually believed down to the marrow of my bones that I was a living, breathing daughter of God in the flesh, whose spirit is perfectly in line with His, I would understand that I have value, worth, power, authority, and inheritance. I would finally come just a little bit closer to understanding who He is.
Many will come to know about Christ, but not many will become Christ.
I think that people for generations have been asking the wrong question. The question is not whether or not we've come to faith about who God is, but,
"Have you come to faith about who you are?"
Why else do we look to others to tell us who we are? We wear name brands, we rely on social status, we listen to genres of music or hide behind categorical vocations. Sooner or later you realize that none of that sticks, and none of that lasts, and none of it is sufficient to define the nuanced intricacy and unique qualities that make up who you really are.
Have you come to faith about who God says that you are?
"I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." 2 Cor. 6:18
Before you were anything else, you were a son or daughter to Him. Even after you tallied all your accomplishments and hung your medals and trumpeted your successes or failures, you still remain a son or daughter. Christians and non-Christians alike live most of their lives failing to realize or accept this. The greatest tragedy is not whether or not you acknowledge God to be who He is, it is that you never acknowledge who you are in Him.
Like it or not, God knows who He is. He's not lost. He's not confused. He's not up there having panic attacks and identity crises every couple of years, or every time someone says, "Oh my GOD" or "Jesus H Christ." It's His children who are lost -- following no specific agenda, and wasting away their gifts and potential trying to figure out their life's calling.
It finally made sense to me today that if I truly came to faith and actually believed down to the marrow of my bones that I was a living, breathing daughter of God in the flesh, whose spirit is perfectly in line with His, I would understand that I have value, worth, power, authority, and inheritance. I would finally come just a little bit closer to understanding who He is.
Many will come to know about Christ, but not many will become Christ.
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