Prudence counsels caution when we face the unknown, but faith counsels courage. Here be dragons, you say? Fine. I’m eager to see them and, if need be, fight them. Whatever else it may be, life in Christ is never dull. It is truly the Great Adventure.
Reaching forward is not optional. When we obeyed the gospel, we committed ourselves to it. We made a public promise to strive for heaven the rest of our lives. And if we ever quit doing that, we’ve broken the most important promise we ever made.
We need to wake up. In our present condition, we are under condemnation for our sins, and so the “default position” is condemnation. Taking the course of least resistance always leads downhill, and doing nothing will get us nothing but hell.
We are not “of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.” So having turned from futility and death to salvation and life, let us be as passionate in what we pursue as we are decisive in what we reject.
Of all the painful emotions, perhaps the worst is despair. We all have desperate days, of course. But desperate decisions are dangerous, and so desperate days are the worst time to decide whether we’re going to yield to a temptation or say no to it.
Fighting on the front lines, some days will be discouraging. But what a difference it makes to remember that Christ died for us! The thought that Somebody loved us like that can turn us around no matter what ditch the devil has dragged us into.
A positive mental attitude can be helpful, but the critical issue is how we view our own abilities. Determination is fine, but we dare not get to thinking that we ourselves are invincible. It is good to learn “that we should not trust in ourselves.”
As long as the ease and pleasure of the status quo is greater than the discomfort of changing, we don’t change. It’s only when the present has become less pleasurable, or the consequences of not acting have become scary enough, that we finally act.
The Lord is more important than our temporal blessings. And the main measure of whether we have a proper attitude toward these things is how ready we are to let go of them. And I don’t mean “someday” — I mean today, if the need should arise.
Affluence is a challenge. Having all, or even most, of what we want can destroy us spiritually if we don’t face the problem that goes along with satisfied circumstances: the fact that it is much harder to keep God in the right place in our hearts.
There is no damage to our souls that Christ cannot repair. But He will not be manipulated by fake repentance on our part. If we expect His forgiveness and help, ...