I have been thinking about “The Way” for a very long time. “The Way” was another name for the Church of Jesus Christ in the first Century. Some cults have sprung up in modern times trying to usurp the authority that comes with that name. But for me, it has become about an attitude that comes with being a follower of Jesus Christ.
On one side we are told that it is our actions that define us. Some people, however, are able to do all the right things but without a right heart or attitude. Sometimes this is done to deceive people sometimes it’s just that some people only know that they have been told to do something a certain way, without any reason for it and they do it without understanding. When asked why they are doing what they are doing, they say "I was told to do it that way." They might even say because the Bible says so.
But I think that our attitude needs to line up with our actions. As a Christian, our hearts have to be submitted to God otherwise, we can end up like those people who Jesus will reject, saying “I never knew you!” because they were doing what seemed right but they were not walking in relationship with Jesus and they did not have a regenerate heart therefore, they cannot understand or obey the Will of God.
Sometimes we use the term, "heart attitude". Nothing could be closer to the truth. It is all about our heart and the attitude that resides there. When our attitude is wrong then we can do all the right things, but we are still in the wrong. More likely the outcome when we have a wrong attitude is we are unable to do the right things. But praise God, we have the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to help us to have the right attitude and to know what is the right thing to do is.
I believe that God has granted me some insight into what our attitude should be like when we are living according to God's will. There is no guessing but do not think that this is something that you can do in and of yourself. We need God's wisdom and power to walk out the life He has intended for us. When we do realize that we are not walking in "The Way", we can always go back to God and ask for help. We can ask for wisdom and we can ask to be corrected by the Holy Spirit.
Note: The Holy Spirit is not going to contradict the Word of God.
If you could imagine a road stretching off into the distance, we might ask what defines the boundaries of the road before us. The right curb or road marker I believe is marked by the attitude of Humility as defined by the Scripture that says that we can do nothing apart from God. Actually, it was Jesus saying that we can do nothing apart from Him. The left curb or boundary is marked by the attitude of confidence, as defined by the Scripture, "I can do all things through Him/Christ, who strengthens me."
These two attitudes are not mutually exclusive, rather they serve to encompass the path before us. Both confidence in God and humility are dependent upon our relationship with God the Father, through Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit.
What I hope to accomplish in the following chapters is to use these road-markers/attitudes to define what it means to be a disciple of Christ. There will be a lot of comparing and contrasting used to illuminate for us the differences between being a natural person and being someone redeemed by God. Come join me on this journey as we learn to walk in the "Way of God" in such a way as to fully experience the peace that Jesus promised us.
No comments:
Post a Comment