Bummer Buster Friday - Following Jesus

Good morning!

I think the last several years, which have at times seemed surreal, dreamlike at times and even nightmarish at other times, have driven me deeper into my faith. My desire to know my Savior, Lord Jesus, to walk with him, has been a constant drum beat in my life, getting more intense as each day passes. Maybe, just maybe, it is the ticking of the clock, my getting older…LOL, but I don’t think so. God has placed on my heart the consuming desire to know Him, to know Him through His Son, Jesus.
 
So with that as a back drop, I reached back to some past thoughts on what it means to be a Christ follower:
 
“A Christian is: a mind through which Christ thinks, a heart through which Christ loves, a voice through which Christ speaks, and a hand through which Christ helps.”
Saint Augustine
 
When I saw this quote it just resonated with me. It seems to speak to the idea that living as a Christian is being a person that produces fruit in living, fruit that flows out of faith founded in God’s gift of mercy and grace, leading us to surrender our lives to Christ, laying our lives down, picking up our cross to follow Jesus, living for Him and His glory, not for ourselves.
 

• A mind through which Christ thinks – see Philippians 2:5-8 – “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 
Other related verses - 1 Corinthians 2:16; Luke 19:10; Luke 5:16; Matthew 9:36. A commentary from one person about what the mind of Christ means – “Having the mind of Christ means we understand God’s plan in the world—to bring glory to Himself, restore creation to its original splendor, and provide salvation for sinners.”
 

• A heart through which Christ loves – see Matthew 11:29 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” In just reading this verse , I can almost sense the gentleness of Jesus and His deep and abiding love.

 

• A voice through which Christ speaks – as we study the Word (see John 1:1-5 – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” ), we become equipped by Christ to actively share the Good News – both that we are all sinners, not one of us has our own righteousness (Romans 3:9-11), and then that indeed, through Christ’s perfect sacrifice we can be saved (John 3:16-18). We are a voice that Christ can use.

 

• A hand through which Christ helps – see Matthew 25:34-36 – “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’” Our hearts ought to be so full of Christ’s presence through the Holy Spirit, that we bear this kind of fruit of service to others, putting ourselves aside to see to the needs of others. In this we do need to remember that our motive in this work is not earning salvation, but rather an outpouring of the love, grace and mercy we received when we became children of God (see Ephesians 2:8–9). Other related scripture references include: James 1:27; Mark 1:40-41;

 
This quote evokes the idea of transformation and sanctification – the change that happens when we are reborn and become children of God. We are dependent on Christ through the Holy Spirit to live transformed lives, lives that reflect the light of Christ. We become a tool, servant of Christ when we surrender our lives to him. The more we trust and are fully surrendered the more our lives look like that of Christ.

How is God moving you to deepen your relationship with Him? In what ways are you seeking Jesus? 
 
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we each can open up ourselves to know Jesus more deeply and then to let Him, through the Holy Spirit, to fully use us – mind, heart, voice and hands – to share Him with the world, to shine His light! Amen!
 
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Patrick