So the sermons at my church in St. Louis, New City Fellowship, aren't necessarily bad, or even boring, they're just frequently not applicable to my life. This past sermon was actually pretty good, though, with lots of points I liked enough to write down so I could remember.
One thing I really liked that Barry said was, "being a Christian isn't about getting a ticket to Heaven. It's about a relationship. It's about changing your life."
That's the great part about Jesus. Believing in Him isn't just checking "yes" or "no" off on a card, granting entrance to Heaven if you said "yes," and then going on with your life, doing, saying, and thinking whatever you feel like. Choosing to follow Jesus isn't just about believing in Him. It's choosing an entirely new life, a whole new existence.
Life changes, drastically. And most definitely for the better. Following Christ is about living for Him, trying to be like Him. Your thoughts and actions cease to be about yourself, or at least they are supposed to. Sometimes...scratch that, all the time...it's really hard. But it's so worth it! Life gets a true purpose, living for the most wonderful, loving, perfect person ever. Striving to be as perfect and sinless as possible to please that person, but living in the beautiful, freeing knowledge that if you do fail (and you most certainly will), that perfect person will still love you and will always forgive you without a millisecond of hesitation.
I feel like half of that sounds like a love note to a boyfriend or girlfriend. And that's how it should be. Following Jesus isn't just about a new life, it's a beautiful relationship, more perfect and wonderful than any human relationship could ever aspire to be. It's not just about us changing out lives and striving to live like Jesus, living to please Him and show Him we love Him. He loves us back. No, He loved us first. Before we ever started to care about God, He loved us, cared for us, lived and died for us.
Sometimes living for Jesus is hard. Sometimes it almost doesn't seem worth it. Sometimes it doesn't make any sense. But then you remember...He died. He died. For us! He's perfect, He's never done anything wrong. He doesn't need us. But He wants us. He wants us. He loves us. For nothing we have ever done, not because we are good enough or perfect enough or can give Him something He can't do Himself. He loves us, though. It's crazy beautiful. And that's what makes it so worth it. Knowing that this perfect person loves us more than we could ever possibly imagine for no reason other than that He does. He simply does. And we can't ever mess up so badly that it will end. That certainty can't be found in any human relationship, only in this perfect love with Jesus. It's comforting, too, the security that can be, and is, found in Him when we surrender our lives. Knowing that the tears and pains of life have purpose, that we are meant for something more.
I've heard this song a few times, but hearing it today it was perfect.
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
We don't know God's plans, but it is comforting to know He has them. God is designing our life. How awesome is that? The all-knowing, powerful, perfect, wonderful, loving God of the universe has designed a life for us. He cares that much about us. He values us. And I think that's awesome. He's the best friend, father, and most loving, perfect relationship we'll ever have. I wouldn't ever want to live without that, I don't think I could live without that. He's there when I cry, letting me curl up in His arms and telling me it's gonna be okay. He's there to listen when I just need to talk. He lets me yell and vent and scream at Him, "why?" and then He patiently reminds me that He's in control. When I ask questions, He answers, when I say a prayer, He hears. The plans and answers don't always happen the way I think they should, but He does what's best, because He loves us...oh how He loves us.
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