From the Heart

I really am bad at starting these blogs, and I think that half of my blogs have started this way. I just want to just release some tension that's been on my heart for awhile. It's finding the line between good works and strong faith. One thing that has pressed this point is that I'm reading a book called Radical Together by David Platt. In it he describes how there are normally two ends of the spectrum in the church. The one who has faith but no works to show for it and another who has works but is not sure of their salvation. Let me clarify that I am no expert on such things, just speaking my mind. Anyways, Platt says that they are both wrong. The bible clearly says in James that faith without action is dead, but it also says that we can not gain salvation by works. To use Platt's line, we were saved from work to do work. Work is not our means to salvation but it is the byproduct of our faith. If you have true faith, good works will follow. That's not to say that if you don't have good works you are not saved. How this affects me is that it really gets me thinking on how I am letting God working in my life through my faith. I feel like I am involved in so much, but I also feel like I'm not doing anything. One thing I struggle with also is that I don't give my actions or involvements to God, instead I try to do them myself and that never works. The less I am, the more He can become through me. This does not mean that God will not be able to do something without me. But I want to be honored to let God use me. And I feel like we view working for God as a job that has to be done otherwise nothing will be done. When we think this way though, we are making God our servant, which is so wrong in so many ways. As Christians we should really be inclined to think that when we are serving God, it is a privilege and an honor, not a hassle. This all comes down to the where our hearts are though. I really do not know if I can express how much the topic of the heart means to me. I say that because there are so many things in the scripture that show how important your hearts standpoint is. Let me also say this, Christianity is not just a religion, especially not a "If you follow these 5 steps you will get your 'Get in to Heaven Free' card" type of religion. It is a heartfelt religion that has the one and only God in the universe, and He desires a relationship with you. I feel like I'm just rambling on here and I will end this shortly. It all comes down to this, God loves you, He desires for you to know and praise Him, He showed this by sending His son to save all of us unworthy people and even when things seem the hardest, He is still with you. God will not forsake you.