"Who are you living for?"
We could also rephrase that and ask, "Who are you serving?" Everyone is living for something. Serving someone. For Christians, there's no in between: we're either living for Christ, or we're living for self (the flesh). Don't believe me? Here's what God says in Scripture, "No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." -Luke 16:13 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." -Mark 12:30 "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." -James 4:4 "By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." -1 John 3:10 I think you get my point; or rather, God's point. Let's go through what these verses say about us. In Luke 16:13--a parable about the unjust steward--it hits the climax with this statement: No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. While this parable is about money (serving God or money), isn't it true for anything? If we choose something above God, it has become an idol. And when something is an idol, it gets more importance and higher priority than serving God. We can fall into the trap of serving self (our sinful desires, opinions, thoughts, etc) rather than God, and that's a dangerous place to be because we will be devoting ourselves to things that are temporary. When we prize things of this world above Christ, we are being an enemy of God. Which brings us to James 4:4, where it says that whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. To be a friend of the world is be spiritually adulterous (which is why James uses the phrase "adulterous people"). We are in opposition to God and His perfect law when we make ourselves an idol. We can make ourselves idols in subtle ways, such as putting out opinion above God's truth (a good example of today is Christians supporting LGBTQ+--a sin in God's eyes--because they think it's right. That's putting self opinions above God). Stay faithful to God and His truth, avoiding the trap of spiritual adultery. Since the Bible says to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, that leaves no room for self. We need to love God with--not only our heart or soul, which itself is impossible for man--but our mind and strength! With everything in us we need to love God, and to love God is to obey Him, love what He loves, and hate what He hates. Love people. Hate sin. Find that balance. Remember how I said at the beginning that there's "no in between" for Christians--living for Christ or self? Well, in 1 John 3:10, it says that it is evident those who are children of God and children of the devil. Before we were saved through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection to pay for our sin, we were in bondage to this sin and were children of the devil and darkness. We served ourselves. We only lived for self. I mean, why would we live for God when we didn't even know Him as our Savior? I know I wouldn't if I were still lost. Why would I put in all that effort if I had no idea what He had done for me, or even simply who He was? But God has made us alive in Christ. Because of Jesus, we are free from sin and have become children of God! There's no in between: we're either serving God or the devil. We're either serving Christ or self. So, who are you serving? If it isn't Christ, what changes will you make? Remember: your eternity depends on it. God doesn't ask for a half-in Christian. He requires a devoted follower. Today is the day to pursue Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Don't wait. Seek and know Him while you're young, and build a firm foundation so that you'll be unshaken by the world. I guarantee you it will all be worth it in the end when we reach eternity.
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authorHi, I'm Aria! I'm so glad you've stopped by my blog. I'm a Christian teenage girl living in the United States, doing what I love for the glory of God. Learn more about me and the heart behind this blog here. archives
November 2020
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