Cindy and I have a saying we’ve adopted. Stay in your circle. Some books talk about staying in your lane, but we really like the circle concept. The basic principle is to draw a circle around you and fix what’s in the circle. A quick look around and the only thing in that circle should be you and Jesus. One of you is perfect and the other needs  tremendous amounts of work. I think there are lot of times we try to bend Jesus or “fix” Him to meet our needs, when Ephesians 5:1 says He is the person we need to emulate. Our pastor said something the other day in the service: “If our definition of Jesus is not biblical then we need to evaluate our definition of who Jesus is.” It was a great reminder that in the time and culture we live in, we can miss the person of Jesus just like Israel did, if we are not careful. We can fall into the same religious traps and make this journey about us.

Several years ago in pre-planning we had to pick a word that described who we are and how we wanted to live our lives. The word that was glaring me in the face was Scriptural. Was I known for the way I live out scripture and was I willing to live my life by scripture? At first, I tried to avoid the word and wanted something easier, but the more I prayed and talked with Jesus, he kept bringing me to this concept of living out His Word. My rebuttal was, of course, I am. But Jesus was pressing more into the uncomfortable zone of where he wanted to take me. It was overwhelming to me that I could internalize my relationship with Jesus and not have any external evidence of that relationship. Here is where I wish someone would have been honest with me about a relationship with Jesus, when He prunes you…IT HURTS!! I know all the cliches and all the stereotypical things that are said, but until it happens to you and God wrecks you, then we’ll talk. I know I haven’t had the Job experience, nor do I want to, but God is directly pointing out sins that I need to repent of and ask forgiveness for. It is uncomfortable, but I also want to produce as much fruit for the kingdom as possible. Sometimes is doesn’t make any sense, but it is the push to live according to His Word.

So, life isn’t always easy when you are trying to live your life by scripture. Do I fail? Yes! But part of that failure is how I respond. I feel that sometimes my response speaks to people the most. Do I always get that right too? No! However, realizing the failure and asking God to change you is a huge step in the right direction. If, for a moment, you could imagine a sculptor looking at a large piece of stone before he begins with his hammer and chisel. I think for me that speaks the loudest. God, with his chisel, working in my life so that I look more like His Son and not myself. It also puts the pain into perspective. For the sculptor to get the statue out of the stone, the unnecessary material must be removed. In my life, that’s the sin that keeps me from looking like Jesus. It’s not easy and sometimes it’s really painful, but knowing the end result makes it more bearable. I know it is a process and it takes time. God has been hammering on me for years, and I would love to be further along in the process, but sometimes my stubbornness causes extra hammering. At the end of the day, I want to look more like Jesus and less like myself. I know its the typical Christian cliche, but it is the truth I try to live out everyday.

 

Photo by Stanley Shashi on Unsplash