“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.” (Romans 12:1 NLT)
Have you come to understand that your body is the only vehicle through which and by which you can entrust your life to Jesus? There was an elderly lady in one of the first churches I served who came faithfully to every service. Having expressed my appreciation for her faithfulness she told me this story. She said, “Every Sunday morning I have this conversation with my body. Lying in bed I will say: ‘Okay body, it’s time to get up and get ready for church.”
To which my body replies: “I’m sorry, but I’m so comfortable and I ache all over. How do you expect me to take you to church when every part of me longs to stay in this warm, comfortable bed?” She said they go on like this for a while until finally she says: “Look body, I’m going to church and you’re the only way I have of getting there, so, get up and get moving ‘cause I don’t want to be late!”
What does living your best life now look like to you? Dr. John MacArthur made an insightful statement when he wrote: “The only way you’re living your best life now is if you’re going to hell.” Too often we conclude that our best life will be found when we have enough money set aside to last us through our retirement; our kids are grown and we’re living a casual, relaxing lifestyle in our paid for house or second home on the water.
And please don’t hear what I’m not saying. There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of those things, unless and until they take center stage that should be reserved for Jesus alone. I love C. T. Studd’s words from a poem that says: “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.” When we mistakenly crowd out God’s prime spot in our heart to pursue what we perceive as OUR best, we reveal who owns our heart and who is indeed our “lord.”
Jared Wilson reminds us: “To honestly proclaim the greatness of Christ requires honestly confessing the bankruptcy of our own souls.” And this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with dollars and cents, it has to do with the priorities of our life that are revealing who really owns our heart, mind, soul, and body. The reality is, once we grab hold of the true picture of who Jesus is and what He’s done on our behalf, the pull of the evil one fades as he loses his grip on us.
Ron Hutchcraft’s words ring so true when he wrote in reference to Jesus: “He’s not ‘entombed’ in some dusty old history book or in some religious institution or religious observance. No! He’s the all-powerful, death-reversing, game-changing Savior who’s proven there’s nothing He can’t beat. Unleashed that Easter morning, Jesus is this very day, healing families that nothing else can heal. He’s crushing Satan. He’s lifting up the oppressed. He’s protecting the vulnerable. He’s reshaping nations, steering history. This living Christ is shattering addictions, He’s defying disease. He’s making sinners like me into living proof that He’s alive.”
If your idea of your best life now doesn’t include allegiance to and dependence upon the living Christ, you’re not going to like where it’s leading.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 