A quote flashed by in Pinterest the other day. It's annoying to look at Pinterest on my phone because it auto-refreshes and when something pops up, it often disappears in that auto-refresh and I can't find it. I was going to follow this pin, see where the quote came from but I couldn't. I'm not trying to take credit so if someone knows where this originates, I'd love to hear about it. (the quote I saw on Pinterest - the Bible references I added for my own reminder)
With that said, the quote struck me. In a culture where "it's all about me" is prevalent (sometimes overtly, sometimes quite subtly), this reminds me of what I need to focus on doing instead of what the world tells me I should be doing.
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Our Lifegroup is working through Jerry Bridges' "Respectable Sins" study and this week we're talking about ungodliness and ungratefulness. Perhaps seeing the quote on Pinterest wasn't quite so random. There have been a few things to "make me think" this week. It's difficult, it's hard to dig deep because that involves looking at the blackness that is your own heart. I know I tend to think I'm doing better than I am and while I know I am covered by God's grace and that Jesus' blood is the filter God sees me through, if that alone does not make me want to please Him in every way, shape and form then I am too involved in my own self. If God does not enter my thoughts constantly, then I am being ungodly and I am grieving Him. That is being much less than holy.
There is more, so much more. There is a danger of getting stuck in self-examination and beating oneself up quite a bit. I can do that quite easily. I must remember God's wrath has been poured out, through Jesus, for my sins and I bow my head in awe and wonder at that gift - and I have to ask God to help me avoid belittling that gift by not accepting His grace.
May I forever be living Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
