Yes, I know. I'm quite the prolific blogger today. Unusual indeed.
Over the last few weeks I've been listening to Piper's sermon "Don't Waste Your Life" repeatedly as I drive places. Wow. I've been convicted. I'm pretty sure I could listen to this sermon everyday for the rest of my life and God would convict me about something else every time.
Here's part of what he says:
Phil. 3:7-8 (ESV)
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.
"Paul makes Christ look great by experiencing Christ as such a treasure that everything else in his life is as nothing by comparison.
How do you make Christ look great in your life?
1. Money is given to you so that you might use money in a way that shows money is not your treasure, Christ is.
2. Food is given to you so that you might eat it in such a way that it will be plain food is not your treasure Christ is.
3. Friends, family are given to you so that you might live with them in such a way that it will be plain to the world they are not your treasure, Christ is.
4. Computers, toys, houses, lands, cars are given to you so that you might use them in such a way that it will be plain to the world these are not your treasure, Christ is.
You talk about lifestyle implications – wartime living.
The way we display the supreme worth of Jesus is by treasuring Him above all things and then making choices which make the joy we have in His supreme worth manifest...And if He is not that for you tonight, if He’s not that treasure for you, pray all night if you have to that your heart would be so changed that you would now treasure Jesus above everything in your life."
I've been especially convicted by point number 3. It's so easy for me to make idols out of my husband, and my children. Most of the time I DO treasure my family more than Christ. Our children are given to us for a time. We are God's representatives to teach them the gospel and show them how to love Jesus. The point is that our lives are not our own. Our husbands are not our own. Our children are not our own. We belong to God and the point of life is to bring Him glory. It's a battle everyday to live my life centered around this truth.
I pray that I would "experience Christ as such a treasure that everything else in my life is as nothing by comparison."
Thoughts???
If you don't understand what it means to treasure Christ, visit this site or email us. We'd love to talk to you.
1 comment:
Hey Nin,
That post was so convicting, thank you for sharing and exhorting us to treasure Christ more! At first I was like, "Oh man, NOTHING in my life shows that I treasure Christ!" And while it is mainly a matter of the heart, certain things you DO demonstrate heart priorities. My super encouraging and practical husband pointed out a couple of things we do that show that Christ is treasured above Grace. 1) By disciplining Grace (and will do so more once she gets older). If we loved her more than we loved God and trusted His word, we wouldn't try to train her as the scripture says. We would let her do whatever she wanted. 2) We take her to church (I have to wake her from a nap to do this). So her schedule Sunday morning is basically dictated around when the body meets. And I recognize that it is easier for us to do this than others, since we meet for Sunday School at 10 a.m.
I hope this is encouraging, especially since you and Paul do the things I mentioned. You're such a good mom to the twins, and part of the reason God entrusted our babies to us is to expose sin in our hearts! What a good God to mold us into the image of His Son!
Love you,
sarah
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