“Teach me Your decrees, O Lord; I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will obey Your instructions; I will put them into practice with all my heart. Make me walk along the path of Your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.” (Psalm 119:33-35 NLT)
Not until we long for it will God’s will become our highest desire and aspiration. The Psalmist’s prayer gives us insight into the sacred path that Jesus said would only be found by the few. Why do you think the pathway to life is so difficult to find? It’s nearly impossible to find that for which we do not seek.
Ironically, the path to life is very easy to find for those who seek Him. Jesus said very clearly in John 10:9: “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through Me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” But, admittedly, the path to Jesus has requirements that many are not willing to meet.
For example, in Matthew 16:24-25 Jesus said: “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.”
Selfishness often leads to brokenness that is often the foundational motivation for our desire to seek change. It’s ironic on some levels that the very selfishness that keeps us from the Lord is often the key factor in pointing us to Him. But notice in the verse (24) above that selfishness must be left at the door to life in Jesus.
It takes a miracle of regeneration to turn a person’s heart to Jesus, yet, over time it gets easier to deny ourselves and to put Jesus on the throne of our life. What’s the key? For one thing, our outside shifts from us to “them.” Who’s “them?” People in our spheres of influence that we love and can’t imagine being in heaven without, but who continually refuse to open their heart to Jesus.
There’s only one thing that will change that – prayer! But it takes time and effort to pray regularly and with focused attention on the needs of our lost loved ones and friends. Unfortunately, not many people who profess faith are willing to pay the price of intercession.
Perhaps Pastor Corky Calhoun had that in mind when he wrote: “It has always been the faith of a few that has ignited the movement of many.” Dick Eastman wrote: “Behind the saving grace of every believer is someone praying.” Prayer moves mountains that will be moved in no other way! God opens hearts to Him when we pray for those who are lost and dying in their sin. In some ways we are our loved one’s only hope of heaven.
And the irony is, they’re not “bad” people. In many cases they’re very “good,” loving, kind, caring people who love us and their family. They’re hard workers, care about their neighbors, and, on many levels, live very good and honorable lives. If our personal goodness could save us, they’d be in! But the Bible says in John 3:10 (quoting from Psalm 14) “No one is righteous – not even one.”
Paul reinforces this idea when he writes in Ephesians 2:9: “Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” It’s ironic that while goodness can’t save us, it becomes the track upon which we run as God’s children. The very next verse in Ephesians 2 says: “For we are (as God’s redeemed child) God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
So, you see, goodness isn’t the path TO God, it’s the path WITH God!
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 