We are not told in
scripture to follow after a principle or value; rather we are directed to a
person. The Bible is not a book of
philosophical ideas or even of precepts; it is a signpost that points toward
One who saves. Nothing is more fruitless
than the flailing efforts at keeping any of the bits of the Sermon on the Mount
and anyone who indicates otherwise is a liar.
Before you murder you have already murdered. Before you have committed adultery, you have
already committed adultery. Before you
have stolen, you have already stolen. It
is all there at the front end of the action...the deed is in your head and you
can't get at that with determination.
Nothing establishes your need for One Person more than the corruption of
your life before you even act. You know
you have wanted something not yours simply because someone else has it. You know you have despised someone without
saying a word to anyone about it. You
know you had your way with someone and
never even touched that partner. It is
all there for you, the complete inability to live a holy and righteous life
because if the truth be known, you don't want to live it. But within some, and that number may be
smaller than we think, there is a great longing to be all out for God, to be
clean and pure no matter what. It is
then that the dawn breaks and you see the most important part...you need the
Savior. You don't need a Savior to keep
you out of hell, you need a Savior to get you out of hell. Life and death are not that far apart, they
are the space between turning to Jesus Christ and not. The lust that burns within you in a flash and
the bitter hatred that flares in an instant have their kindling in the heart
that is not depending upon Christ for all joy and peace. Eternal life weaves its way through you in a
twisted and convoluted way until you look to Jesus Christ to redeem each and
every thought you have and then it grows straighter and more sure. And soon enough one day you will only look to
Jesus Christ and your victory will be proven fully in the shadowless realm of
God's unending Presence. The Christ
life in not a concept but a reality for the one who turns to the Lord to save
her from her thoughts and not just her public actions. The more of Christ we take within us, the
more we live and live and live.
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 NIV
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