It Really is ALL About Jesus

"I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."

For a while now, a wise friend has been telling me that Jesus needs to be the focal point of my life. No matter how much time I spend reading and thinking, blogging and journaling,  working and playing....Jesus must be my all in all. I realize now that I did not pay attention to how important that fact is. Now I am understanding as the Holy Spirit convicts me.

Every once in a while, I become completely exhausted because of doing "stuff". When I step back and question why I'm doing the "stuff", I answer, "because I need to be doing it". This is where the Holy Spirit convicts me, because all my attempts at living a godly life to honor God are worthless if Christ is not at the center of all that I do. He must be behind every motive, every action, every thought, every word.

Without Jesus, there is no purpose in life. Just think about it. Christ died to be the redemption of sin. But his death would not have mattered that much  if he hadn't risen from the grave. If he had just died, he would have been like any other dying  man. But his resurrection, his conquering of death, made all the difference. By conquering death, He gave us, the human race, hope for a future beyond the grave. Think of it: life is lived and in the end, you die. That's all. If all that occurs in the end is death, a body lying in the grave, then why not live this life to the fullest, selfishly enjoying all the pleasures it has to offer without caring about consequences.  But because Jesus conquered the grave, there is something beyond our bodies decaying in a cemetery. Jesus gave us something other than ourselves to live for: Him. By living godly and holy lives on this earth, we have something to hope and long for, a perfect and pure relationship with God for eternity, exactly what we were made for in the first place. So because Christ died, saving us from our evil, sinful hearts, and then conquered death, He gave us a purpose, a reason for doing "things", for doing "stuff", but for Him.

When from my dying bed,

My ransomed soul shall rise,

"Jesus died my soul to save,"

Shall rend the vaulted skies.

Understanding that then, all that we do from day to day should be centered around Jesus, since he gave us the meaning of doing  all "things". If we lose focus of Him, then our purpose becomes blurry and we wander around aimlessly wondering why we do the things we do. In order for the purpose to become clear again, we must draw near to the One who gave us that purpose, that hope for which to live. " 

And when before the throne

I stand in Him complete,

I'll lay my trophies down,

All down at Jesus' feet.

When I came back home from my schooling at Rivendell Sanctuary, the youth group I help lead was focusing on a series of lessons called, "It's All About Jesus". When it was explained to me by one of the leaders that doctrine and theology do not matter as much as Jesus, I think I was fairly shocked. At that time I had just finished up a semester focusing on theology and philosophy, and was holding theology in pretty high regards. Now that I think more about it, I realize that the leader was right. Developing one's own theology is important in order to develop a logical defense for one's beliefs, in addition to many other important practices and studies; however, if Christ is not at the center of those studies, what's the point? Why develop a study of God, theology, without focusing on Christ, the very Son of God?

So yes, acquiring wisdom, developing relationships, working hard, and enjoying life's pleasures are to be done, but they must be done with Jesus as the focus. So do things, but only do those things if they are being done for the glory of God. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

And when you get exhausted of doing things, as I often do in this hectic life, step back and question yourself as to why and for whom you are doing these things. Are you trying to be productive and accomplish much to feel valuable, to pay off some sin, to appease a guilty conscience, to please God, or to repay Christ for what he's done for you? If so, draw near to God and repent. Then be filled up in Christ so that you may continue pouring out Christ until that time when you grow weary again. Fill up, so that you may pour out. 

Jesus paid it all,

All to Him I owe,

Sin had left a crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow

Lyrics from Jesus Paid It All by Elvina Hall

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NntEuGCsWwM