So Much More
Have you ever thought about what following God really means? I constantly do, and I read something a couple days ago that really stuck with me, and made me dive deeper into what this meant to me, it read
"have you ever wondered if you're missing what it's really suppose to be? The God of the universe, creator and father, with love unconditional and grace unending, loves us everyday without change. And how do we respond when asked what it means to be loved by Him: we don't cuss, and we go to church on Sundays, and know our scripture"
I am being 100 honest, this used to be me, I used to think that if I went to church, didn't say bad words and read the bible, than I was living a faithful life. How THANKFUL I am that God woke me up, and showed me how much I was missing, and how it's SO MUCH MORE.
If I got to the end of my life and all I could tell you about my walk with Jesus was, I didn't say bad words, I went to church, I memorized some verses....when I look into God's eyes, i feel like He willsay, "yes but what did you do to bring MY name to the world, how did you love others that were different from you, how did you help when you were given more, how did you spend your time alone, did you choose comfort over faith, ignorance over truth, did you truly care for the one's you love or only when convenient, did you trust in Me or turn to me when your own plan failed, did you believe in My plan for you and My purpose"?
I want to know that I chose obedience when I could have chosen comfort, that I eagerly chased after God in a way that made others see His consistent love. To know God intimately is the most valuable gift, but it is also a choice. So I just say to you, if you have ever thought that following God is about restrictions and rules, you aren't following God. God gives freedom and wisdom and courage to those who follow Him, grace that never ends, and love that no person can come close to replicating. When you follow God, their is no "better man", there is equality in our sinfulness but their is also equality in potential. Their is love when you think you are too messed up to be, their is forgiveness when you can't forgive yourself, there is hope when you think it's the end.
I never want my life to explainable without God's hand in the mix, I want people to look at me, and look at how I live my life and know that I couldn't be doing, loving, or living by myself, there is someone else here.
Yes, I do go to church on Sundays, and I don't cuss, I have a baby face and it would seem like an adult baby is saying bad words, and I do read the bible way more than I did before , but I do all these things for such different reasons now. I get the chance to worship Him with others, I get to honor the way Jesus spoke to others, and I ge to read what God says. So many times I hear, " I wish God would just tell me what to do", it took me years to realize, THAT's THE BIBLE, His advice, comfort, thoughts, hopes, everything is in their. It's all something I GET to do.
So-I don't really have a clever ending for this one, but that's fine because it's not about me, this blog is not about me, it's abut the Big Guy Upstairs.