full of Jesus

I want to lose my life rather than waste it. Missionaries do it all the time. But here? How do I get past the materialism of my culture, the focus on what I can see?

In the book Don't Waste Your Life, ch.5, John Piper says
...it is right to risk for the cause of Christ. It is right to engage the enemy and say, "May the LORD do what seems good to him." It is right to serve the people of God, and say, "If I perish, I perish!" It is right to stand before the fiery furnace of affliction and refuse to bow down to the gods of this world. This is the road that leads to fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. At the end of every other road-secure and risk-free-we will put our face in our hands and say, "I've wasted it!"

1Peter 1:17-19 tells us that God had to pay blood to redeem us from the futile way of life we used to have. This should make us sober and live our lives in reverent fear, for Him.

I want to "bleed Jesus" - so that wherever you poke me, He comes out. We have missionary friends like that, Ken & Kath Ashcroft. No matter what the situation, they start speaking of Jesus. No matter what the conversation, you are sure to hear a genuine "praise the Lord!" or "isn't God good!" I want to be like that.

But how?
To be full of Jesus. To indeed, make much of Him. Wherever I am. Wherever He has put me. Surely He puts people in America, not to rot in materialism, but to be so full of Him that they want to tell others around them who He is, and how He is more precious than life.

THE precious thing

Jesus is not just "the most precious thing" to a Christian; He is THE precious Thing. In Heaven, we will see the face of God - and it will be enough for us. (Rev.22:4).

As the song "God and God Alone" puts it:

"He will be our one desire,
Our hearts will never tire
Of God, and God alone."

amen!

Last night in a sermon about Jesus' return, our pastor said "the purpose of this life is to prepare us for the life to come."

We aren't just here to bide our time and try to fill it with something useful till we die - but to be preparing for eternity by how we live. To use our money to buy eternal treasure. To know God as THE precious thing, as He will be to us in eternity.

The goal is not a clean house, educated and well-behaved children, a good job, a nice retirement - the goal is for God to be "our one desire", even now. Everything else is to serve that purpose. Clean my house out of love for God, as steward of the house I am borrowing from Him. Care for my children as raising those loaned to me for a short time, desiring to show them that God is everything to me, and praying that He will make Himself everything to them as well. Serve God in whatever job He gives me, with all my heart, as working for Him rather than for men, using it as opportunity to make much of Him there.

To live in light of eternity - oh help me do so!

to proclaim His excellencies!

This is why God made us to be His own people: "But you are... a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. " (1Pet.2:9).

Not so that we could pursue our own righteousness here, and be discouraged when we keep falling ever short of the mark - but so that we could rejoice in Jesus who is our righteousness, and love HIM ever more and more, and proclaim His excellencies to the dying world around us.

We are told to "prepare our minds for action" and "be sober-minded" - not in order to go out and be good, but rather to "set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Yes, we are to be "obedient children", not "conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct". But holy implies, not perfect and unsinning, but rather, devoted to God in all that we do. Set apart for Him. We were bought by Him; we are to be fully His, to do all that we do as unto Him, in love for Him. (1Pet.1:13-14).

green grass

Maybe it's just that I'm tired today, but I'm finding myself in the weariness of motherhood. It seems an effort to go find lunch (again) for children who seem always hungry. To again answer all those childish questions, mediate disputes, quell tempers, discipline for sin... how do mothers do it anyway? To think the grass is surely greener somewhere else, anywhere else.

...except we think the grass is greener only because, from this far away, we can't see the weeds or the difficult soil that accompany that grass over there.

Here I am learning about "making much of Christ" in every situation, being content wherever you are, but today has been NOT practicing what I preach. If I can but look to Him, see this as from His hand, and see that my present duties are not "the place I am stuck in" but rather His saying, "do this for Me". "But Lord, aren't there more noble things to do? Greater, more useful things than these?" But He doesn't call the noble and the great. He commends the widow whose good works began with being a wife and MOTHER. He says we will be commended for being faithful in little.

O help me then, to be faithful in this Little here. To do it all for You. Then I am content in my own grass. Then I do not wish to be elsewhere, for He wants me here, to "tend this plot" - not that huge farm out there, but this little garden here. O grant me grace, and joy, to serve You with all my being, right here and now!