I'm sure
this post is not for everyone nor will everyone agree. I write this for the few
who God has intended to challenge & encourage.
They say
that we are to apply the word of God to our lives. Any believer would respond
with- of course! But did you ever think that maybe we are missing something? I
have. And I've searched here & there in different religious circles looking
for another who would also see- and it's usually not a welcoming conversation
or perspective among other believers.
A few weeks ago I came across some words
from A.W. Tozer that encouraged & challenged my soul like you would not believe.
Someone else was onto what I saw way before I had every looked a little closer.
Here is what he wrote..."The deeper life must be understood to mean a life
in the Spirit far in advance of the average & nearer to the New Testament
norm. I do not know that the term is the best that could be chosen, but for
want of a better one we shall continue to employ it. There are many scriptural
phrases that embody the meaning we are attempting to convey, but these
have been interpreted downward & equated with the spiritual mediocrity now
current. The consequence is that when they are used by the average Bible
teacher today, they do not mean what they meant when they were first used by
the inspired writers. This is the penalty we pay for making the
Word of God conform to our experience instead of bringing our experience up to
the Word of God. When high spiritual terms are used to describe low
spiritual living, then other & more definitive terms are
needed..."
I have often wondered why we apply such
great & mighty biblical truths to our mediocre Christian lives. Honestly,
it has baffled my mind. Shouldn't our mediocre Christian living be
rising up to these mighty biblical truths instead? I have often
wondered why we take biblical truths & fit them into our lives wherever
& however we can fit them instead of conforming our lives around that truth
or rising up to it. When we apply scripture to our lives, our lives are usually
not doing the changing or conforming- it's scripture
that's changing & conforming. We used to preach the
Kingdom of God is at hand. We used to preach all is vanity. We used to preach
welcome the stranger in your land. We used to preach to live is Christ & to
die is gain. But somewhere down the road our feelings & sin splattered
hearts got in the way & now we preach those truths only incorporating
whatever culturally acceptable & comfortable "adjustments"
we can afford to fit in our lives without being perceived as holier
than thou or too serious, & in turn- we really don't believe the precious
truths the saints before us clung to so tightly nor do we understand the
original depth of those truths- we only know what we want them to mean to us.
We apply such powerful & bizarre biblical truth to such dead & average
living. Don't you find this interesting?
We have lost so much in the process. (I say
this in an extreme manner to make a point). But when you
start applying your life to the scriptures, when your experiences start rising
to that of those in the scriptures- Beloved, you are in for the craziest
journey you have ever & will ever embark on. Get ready to die. Get
ready to walk alone. Get ready to see more than you want to see. Get ready to
find yourself on the outside. Get ready to be frustrated as you can't seem to
find fulfillment or satisfaction in what people are taking pleasure
in all around you. Get ready for a great perspective shift. Get ready
for brand new priorities. Get ready for unshakable passion. Get ready
for enduring purpose. Get ready for ambitions that will exceed your
wildest imagination. Get ready to be introduced to the heart & plans of
God. Get ready to come face to face with reality. Get ready for the Word of God
to come alive like it has not ever done so before. Your walk with God- your
life, it will change & it will do so for the better. In fact the truths
that you apply & hold fast to now will become all the more precious. Beloved-
this is in no way an easy journey especially in today's society, but you will
never want to turn back. We all need His spirit. His guidance. His grace. His
strength. His wisdom.
Don't be afraid to seek more than what is
the norm & don't quit because of your own shortcomings or the disconnect of
those around you. You will not be sorry. God is wanting to take
his bride farther & deeper, but he is waiting for her to lay her life down
& rise to the heights His heart expresses in His word- the original heights. Greater devotion. Greater love. Greater pursuits. Greater experiences. Greater service. Greater living. Let our hearts & lives be applied & conformed to
His magnificent truth. Let us rise.