How often I
neglect Jesus. The man. The tangible evidence that God exists and wants us back
forever.
How often I make life about hardship (“In this world you will have trouble”—John 16:33). And spiritual warfare (“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”—Ephesians 6). And what I want (“He will give you the desires of your heart”—Psalm 37:4). And where I'm going (“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps”—Proverbs 16:9). All of these things are promised. But the promises do not come without Jesus. After all, he is the one who fulfilled them.
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. No amount of learning or overcoming my struggles or fighting or growing or being made new happens without Jesus. I don’t “get there” without Him—“there” being the Father, not some better version of myself. The purpose of our lives is to get to God, and for that, we need Jesus. He is all that matters. How often I neglect him.
I think our modern culture probably has a lot to do with this. It seems that most everyone, regardless of their faith, is trying to progress. No one would claim they want a static life. And so we all seek to grow and "come in to ourselves" and end better than we began. To "make our mark on the world". Myself included—I seek those things: trying to be better and move forward. But why? And how?
The fundamental difference between those who have the Spirit and the rest of humanity is that there is a person at the center of all of this hope for growth. And it's not me. It is Jesus.
At the end of each day, he is all that matters. My only aim is to get back to God, and Jesus is the only way. He is life.
How often I make life about hardship (“In this world you will have trouble”—John 16:33). And spiritual warfare (“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”—Ephesians 6). And what I want (“He will give you the desires of your heart”—Psalm 37:4). And where I'm going (“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps”—Proverbs 16:9). All of these things are promised. But the promises do not come without Jesus. After all, he is the one who fulfilled them.
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus. No amount of learning or overcoming my struggles or fighting or growing or being made new happens without Jesus. I don’t “get there” without Him—“there” being the Father, not some better version of myself. The purpose of our lives is to get to God, and for that, we need Jesus. He is all that matters. How often I neglect him.
I think our modern culture probably has a lot to do with this. It seems that most everyone, regardless of their faith, is trying to progress. No one would claim they want a static life. And so we all seek to grow and "come in to ourselves" and end better than we began. To "make our mark on the world". Myself included—I seek those things: trying to be better and move forward. But why? And how?
The fundamental difference between those who have the Spirit and the rest of humanity is that there is a person at the center of all of this hope for growth. And it's not me. It is Jesus.
At the end of each day, he is all that matters. My only aim is to get back to God, and Jesus is the only way. He is life.
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