The only right a Christian has is the right to give up his rights. -Oswald Chambers
My nephew is 3 years old. Lunch for his brothers and sister were being prepared for the day and they were being carefully assembled on the kitchen counter. His mom grabbed the block of cheese from the refrigerator and began slicing pieces off for each of their lunch boxes. No one was eating the cheese at the moment, it was for later. But this little guy was ready, right now, to get his cheesy prize. His logic was clearly, “if there’s cheese, then I get some.” Unclear to him this was false logic, because once he found out he wasn’t getting any cheese, his happy, sweet and innocent self turned into a thrashing, loud and tearful torment. What in the world just happened?
He felt he had a right to get cheese. All the pieces were in place for this to be true . . . he was there, cheese was there, mommy was there, his mouth was there! Cha-ching!
I have been challenged lately in my life in much the same way. There are circumstances where I have felt all the right pieces were present for a very specific outcome. On more than one occasion these moments have never turned out as I had imagined they would . . . or should. So, upon departure I would find my anxiety to be high, my criticism to be sharp and despair to be looming near in the shadows. What in the world just happened?
It’s all about my rights! In those moments, much like my nephew, I thought I deserved something. A pat on the back or a certain comment, maybe just a positive look to assure myself things are just fine. The fact is I don’t NEED any of those things. Sure, I’d like them and it would be added coolness to get them, but all of those things are already being met in and through Christ in me. I just need to learn, and trust, in living in that truth. My worth, my identity is found through Christ.
“I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
by: Mark Cruver
Keep preaching the gospel to yourself, my friend, because as John Calvin once said, “Without the gospel everything is useless and vain.”
So true! The value the gospel brings to my life has more value to Him than gold! Psalm 19:10