Jesus

There's a name that secretly repulses alot of people. Sometimes its hard for me to say it without feeling cheesy like a youth pastor or a blue haired tele-evangelist. But Jesus is life. I've been thinking alot about the purpose of life alot lately. If Christ is life then it makes sense that the whole world was created by Him, through Him, and for Him. Its crazy to think that if the world was created to glorify (honor, bring high praise to) God through Jesus Christ, the Fall was not an accident. Jesus is glorified through the grace (free gift) He pours out on those who believe. If there was nothing to save we could never understand the full beauty if who God is.

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
(Joh 17:3)

So here's the pull. If real life, eternal life is found in knowing God through Jesus Christ, why is it so easy to be blinded by the world and my own desires. The last thing I want to do sometimes is get alone and talk to God. I get so concerned about missing out on real living while I'm out in Montevallo but I can have Christ just as much here as anywhere else. In coming to earth Christ came and showed us a perfect life. He showed us how God intended man to live- in constant communion with the Father, sacrificing it all for other people.

I've been trying really hard to do all of this. But I think the whole point of Christ's life was to show us that we can't. It's so funny when you hear people talk about their shortcomings alot of times you'll hear someone say- "Well, I'm not Jesus"- and its true. I feel like I'm killing myself physically, spiritually, and emotionally trying to be Jesus. God doesn't ask me to be Jesus, He asks me to love Him with everything I've got. It's so much easier to love myself, or the thought of marriage, or cute clothes, or good music and just hold God at an arm's distance while I try to be good for Him on the outside. He wants me to let Him inside the most intimate places of my heart and He wants to have first place there. He doesn't want a maid, He wants a wife.

Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
(Mar 12:29-30)

My focus should be on loving my God.
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
(2Co 3:18)

I don't have to force myself kicking and screaming to be the perfect Christian. I need to fix my eyes on Jesus. As I look on Him with eyes of love, I become like Him. If you spend enough time with anyone you love you pick up their mannerisms, you know what they like, you start seeing the world through their eyes. The thought that's made me want to love and know Christ more lately is that everything I love about a beautiful landscape, a cool piece of art, a really interesting guy, a good run- everything that's good on this earth is just a shadow or a really faint reflection of the beauty, satisfaction and love of Christ. He is good.