CHRISTIAN ARTICLE

Where Is Your Heart?

Striving ~ Abiding

I pray this Christian article enlightens your mind,
revives your soul, and
releases you to more of
His love for you.

We believe by faith that Christ is Savior. Then we must choose to follow Him.

To where?

To the cross.

What might our lives look like as we make this journey?

BEFORE THE CROSS:
Quiet Desperation

Before the cross, I am totally in the flesh—striving and striving to reach the cross, pleading with God to make me whole, crying out to Him daily and never feeling the victory of living peacefully and joyfully.

Anytime sin is revealed in my life, I am devastated and guilt abounds.

Any surrender of my life is done painstakingly and with much heartache.

I feel pressed upon to be better but never can be.

This season before the cross can be thought of as the season of "quiet desperation."

AT THE CROSS:
Surrender

Then there is the season where I actually surrender to Him and I am at the cross.

This is the place of death. It is painful when that flesh is exposed for what it is and then circumcised by an act of my will and an act of His grace because all this time I've actually liked my flesh.

Why?

Because it made me comfortable (meaning I knew what to expect) but living in the flesh did not give me fruit of the Spirit (therefore, I was miserable), producing that quiet/comfortable desperation/misery.

Once this big death blow to my flesh takes place, I am left feeling free and yet scared because now I have no idea what to expect, only what not to expect.

So, where am I going now?

AFTER THE CROSS:
Liberty

Now I am at the time of life after the cross. Instead of looking forward to the cross and pleading with God for victory,

I now look back at the cross and realize that He has done it all. He's taken me through that fatal blow of death to self so that whatever happens now, I no longer need to plead and beg for victory or strive but rather rest and wait.

His ways become so obvious to me, and I begin walking by faith which is a victory in itself.

When my sin is revealed, I no longer feel guilt but thanksgiving that I belong to such a loving God who would want me to grow into a person of godly character...

…and not only that, but that godly character happens as I simply abide; He has done it all and He will do it all in my life! What a mighty God we serve! So when He reveals sin in my life, I can surrender it sweetly because I know my God knows me... and now I know me too—the only thing good in me is Him.

A HEART-TO-HEART CONVERSATION

In 2003, when my daughter was 13, she and I were talking about the cross life as we were driving to her violin lesson.

I shared with her what God has revealed to me (as outlined above) and she exclaimed, "Wow! That's like the thieves that were crucified with Jesus. One was on one side of the cross and the other was on the other side."

From Luke 23:39-43	Comments for your prayerful consideration:
One of the thieves said, "Are you not the Christ?	Even though Christ was staring this man in the face, he did not recognize Him because he did not know Him or His ways.
“Save yourself…	This man did not want the will of God to be accomplished.
…and us!”	This man wanted his will to be accomplished.
But the other thief said, "’Do you not even fear God... we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds…	This man knew his sin and himself and what he deserved.
“…but this Man has done nothing wrong.	This thief on the other side of the cross knew Jesus and His ways.
“And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom! “And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise.’”	Even though this man was receiving the punishment due him for his misdeeds based on the law of the land, he was literally on the other side of the cross: he clearly saw who he is and who Jesus is. Jesus promised him paradise/victory that day! This man literally died... and so will our flesh as we willingly confess who we are, honestly before Him, and believe on the Name of the only One who can free us from our flesh unto victory.

These two crosses have parallels to the
two trees.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is represented in the comments of the first thief who could not see Christ because He did not know His ways, who wanted his will rather than God’s will to be accomplished, and strived to bargain with God Himself.

The Tree of Life is represented in the thief on the other side of the cross who knew who he was and Who Christ is, who wanted God’s will and was willing to die so he could live!

Lord, free us from striving and bargaining to
abiding and real Life.

He who abides in Me and I in him
bears much fruit;
for apart from Me you can do nothing.
~John 15:5