I’ve had several friends of mine ask recently “What do you do to pursue Christ? How do I get close to Him?” To be honest, it’s a difficult question. I’m not as close to Jesus as I want to be, yet, I’m closer than I used to be, and tomorrow, the Good Lord willing, I will be closer to Him than I am today. Loved ones, Jace Robertson had a brilliant observation on the subject: if you want to get close to Jesus, study Jesus. Be in the Gospels every day. I believe in this assertion so much that I insisted on it while helping plan the current year-in-the-Bible study. I want to learn from Jesus. I want to learn to walk, talk, and act like Jesus. I want to be full of the Holy Spirit like Jesus, and I want to pursue the Father’s will like Jesus. I want to be so intimate with Jesus that my confidence is built on Him, and not on anything I can do. And so, through the Scriptures, I will pursue Jesus.
This all being said, it’s not easy. It’s going to take discipline. And it’s not going to be like a typical marriage hunt. You know, where people pursue each other to the point of marriage, and then stop once they are all hitched up. No, I am going to pursue Christ every day, as He leads me to pursue my wife every day (I’m still learning, sweetheart, I am glad He has given you patience toward me!). And when I fail, I will approach Him, and ask Him to help me with my unbelief. I want to be so caught up in and bound up in Jesus Christ that people call me a fanatic, and that everything I do gives Him all honor and praise and glory. This is my desire, and this is what I am going to pursue.
Romans 12
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave iti to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Comments