What my life should look like?

So why is this a big deal? I’m still a pretty good person right? My life is good enough. I don’t kill people or any of that bad stuff. But the more I have read scripture in the last year, the more it seems that ‘good enough’ isn’t enough. When I read through scripture, it seems to me that Jesus accepts nothing less than EVERYTHING from someone. The rich young ruler was not willing to give up everything and turned away. Jesus didn’t lower the bar to try and get him to stay. Jesus was ok with him leaving because he wasn’t willing to give everything.

Look at what he said in Mark 8 to the crowd and his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35For whoever wants to save his life^[c] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”

To take up your cross meant you were about to die… its like saying, take up your noose and walk to the platform. Jesus requires everything of me. He requires everything of you.

So I have decided to read through the New Testament and see what my life should look like. I started to look at scripture and see that if you truly love Christ, it will show itself in the form of good works. If you truly love Jesus, you will do what he says to do (1 John 2:3-6).

The more I thought about this… the more I figured that my life didn’t reflect scripture. James says that true religion is to help the widow and the fatherless… when’s the last time I helped a widow? Scripture says that those in the early church gave everything they had to the poor and that there was no one in the early church with needs because everyone just shared their stuff. I look at my church and most of the people seem like they need something… Are we, am I, living the life that scripture called me to?

I don’t think so.

So I am embarking on a journey to find out how my life should look. Like James says, I am holding the word of God in front of me and using it as a mirror to ferret out the parts of me that don’t reflect Christ.

Enjoy!

The jury is still out as to whether or not all this will get posted on this blog or whether I will create another one specifically for this purpose…. I am open to your opinions?