You and I talk a lot about our walk with God. This is, after all, a discipleship devotional.
My goal is to reflect on the challenges that come with God’s transformation. Transformation itself is a promise and a blessing. But it can be uncomfortable at times, right? The gospel of Jesus the Christ challenges our self perceptions. Chances are, we’re not as good or bad as we think. As we learn to follow Jesus, we experience the freedom from both thoughts.
And I’m sure you’ve heard me encourage you to have daily encounters with Christ. That is, discipleship and communion with God are not Sunday morning occasions. The praise song The Air I Breathe says it this way:
This is the air I breath;
this is the air I breathe;
your holy presence
living in me.
We don’t choose when we want air. We always need it.
Now, imagine having such a desperate reliance on God. Would you be willing to give it up? I pray and write daily devotionals every day hoping you wouldn’t! If most people do, it’s often because of personal feelings and struggles. Think of what Jesus said about seed planted on rocky ground (Matthew 13:20).
But what if you gave it up for someone else? That’s an image Paul paints in Romans 9. He says, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood (Romans 9:3). The apostle is referring the people of Israel. He laments that most of them will not turn to Christ. Paul wants his people to know Christ so much, he’d be willing to give up his life. In many ways, he did.
All this should prompt a few questions for us. First, how much do we desire for the people we know and love to know and love Jesus? What about the people in our communities we know who are struggling and living unconnected to Christ? If we are experiencing the transformation of God, shouldn’t we want others to know such a joy? If so, what are we willing to do so they can? What might we need to give up?
Stay blessed…john
