Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Living Radically for Christ

As another day comes to a close, I am left wondering if I have made much of Christ today. Did I live for His glory? Did my actions and attitudes point to the Savior of my soul? Or did I selfishly walk through my day pursuing my own ambitions---forgetting that I no longer belong to sin and self, but to CHRIST JESUS? It is easy to say that I want to live for Christ, but carrying out this radical lifestyle is another story.

Taking up my cross daily is not easy or comfortable. Following Christ takes me out of my comfort zone. Just think of Christ...the cross he bore took Him to Golgotha. I must follow in Christs steps and suffer outside the camp as he did. I will encounter agony and pain---suffering hurts and Christians are promised suffering in the Bible---but God's grace is always sufficient to uphold me through any and every trial.

As Christians we are on a path lined with sufferings of various kinds. Our reaction to suffering should be complete surrender and trust in the Lord. Christ inflicts us with suffering to take our eyes off of what is seen and make us gaze upon what is unseen. He wants us to remember that heaven is our home, not this earth.

Countless Christians have gone before and suffered great loss upon this earth, but they counted it gain because they were looking ahead to their real home---HEAVEN. They lived radically for the Lord of their lives. They held nothing back but gave their all.

Let us live radically for Christ. Let us stop living for our own selfish ambitions that cause us to lose sight of our very existence here upon this earth. We are here to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. The little steps we take today to make much of Christ in the small details of our lives will determine the course our lives will take, whether or not we will leave behind a legacy of radical, Christ-centered Christianity. In fact is there any other way we should or can live as sinners saved by grace?

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