Sacrifice

From the moment I saw those two pink lines, God began to call me to sacrifice.  He was calling me to lay down my life, daily, for a person I had never met.  It was a call to sacrifice my body, my emotions, my sleep... my plans.  At that moment, I didn't realize how much I would give being a mom (and I am sure my understanding of it will only grow more and more as time goes on).  God is preparing me now for a journey that has already begun to, and will forever change my life.  

Although I am extremely excited to meet my little one face to face, I am continually reminded of the sacrifices I will be called to make.  I believe being a mother is a high and holy calling, but it is one that the Lord uses to sanctify His precious children each and every day.  It is a calling to be faithful with the life of a human being that does not ultimately belong to you, but has simply been entrusted to you for a time.  It is a calling to pour yourself into this life in every capacity.  A calling to spend countless hours in prayer at the foot of the cross.  A calling to deny yourself privacy and comfort for the benefit of that child.  

I can already see in pregnancy how sacrifice, when done without the right perspective, can become a joy thief.  I am called to serve my child (even while in the womb), but am I doing that with joy and a grateful heart amidst the uncomfortable nature of pregnancy? Has what God called me to, in motherhood, become more of a burden rather than a blessing already?! 

I'm guilty of forgetting the ultimate call, the call to deny myself and to pick up my cross and follow Christ.  My life is not my own, it is entirely His; and whatever He calls me to, I am but a tool in His hand, called to be faithful.  I can rest assure that He will enable me with the grace and strength each step of the way.  I must not forget HIS sacrifice, because it is that that compels me to this life of sacrifice.  

I am thankful for this journey I am on, and eager to see how the Lord continues to grow me in the months to come.  In less than four months I will be holding my sweet precious bundle of joy, and the sacrifice will have only just begun.  I pray for a joyful heart full of gratitude each step of the way as I deny myself and sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom.  

The Love for a Child

It is incredible how much you can love someone you've never met.  The love of a mother for her unborn child is a unique love and a deep and powerful one, one I really cannot explain, and one that seems to grow more and more with each passing day.  And now that I can feel this little life inside of me throughout the day, I am even more overwhelmed with a sense of adoration.  

Although my child is in my womb, I am entirely in love with every fiber of their being.  The face I've barely seen on an ultrasound, the tiny fingers I can't wait to have grasp mine, and the smiling face I can't wait to see, are constantly on the forefront of my mind.  It is a love that goes deeper than most, a love I cannot explain, and yet a love I believe is but a faint picture of a far greater love I have and continue to experience each and every day; the love of God for His precious children.

The more I have grown to love my own unborn child, the more I have realized the parallel (although it cannot compare), of the Father's love for HIS children.  My love for my child compels me to pray for a future to be full of God's grace and mercy, and an abundance of joy in Him.  As I reflect upon the reality of eternity past and His handiwork in planning and preparing me from before the foundation of time, of his orchestrating of the details and events of my life, of His good plans for my life, and most importantly of His planned work of the Spirit to draw me to Him to ultimately save me.  The love He had for me, the love He has for me, is dumfounding, it is incredible.  It is a love that surpasses my own understanding, a love I do not deserve.

The love I have for my sweet child, is one that is similar in the fact that I have chosen to love this child, in its sacrifice, its desires, and its devotion; yet it doesn't even come close to the love He has for me.  Because God's love for me was exhausted at the point of the ultimate sacrifice, His one and Only Son. That leaves me speechless.  I cannot even fathom sacrificing my child for someone else, and an evil person at that.  And yet, that is exactly what He did for me, and for all of His beloved children.  And for no other reason than that of John 3:16, "...He SO loved the world...".  That is true love for a child, a love that will never be fully understood, a love that will never be matched.

Gospel Centered Parenting

Keith recently came across this article from Albert Mohler, http://www.albertmohler.com/2012/09/11/christian-values-cannot-save-anyone/ , which has forced me to really think about the call to parenting even more.  I highly recommend the article and would encourage you to seek the Lord's leading, direction and wisdom in the area of child-rearing.

You wonder why so many children are growing up in "Christian" homes and yet are forsaking that faith that they seemed to believe in when college comes around.  Are we surprised though?  Really?  "Christian values are the problem. Hell will be filled with people who were avidly committed to Christian values. Christian values cannot save anyone and never will. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not a Christian value, and a comfortability with Christian values can blind sinners to their need for the gospel.  Parents who raise their children with nothing more than Christian values should not be surprised when their children abandon those values. If the child or young person does not have a firm commitment to Christ and to the truth of the Christian faith, values will have no binding authority, and we should not expect that they would. Most of our neighbors have some commitment to Christian values, but what they desperately need is salvation from their sins. This does not come by Christian values, no matter how fervently held. Salvation comes only by the gospel of Jesus Christ. (Al Mohler)"

Growing up in a God-fearing and Christian home myself, I have seen the danger that is present for children.  How does a child relate good behavior, morality, and Christian values to the Gospel?  So what do we do as parents.  I am not claiming to know all the answers but I do have the Word of God and believe that HE alone speaks to the problem and the solution.  

In 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Timothy is exhorted to REMEMBER, "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it  and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."

I believe that there is much that we can learn from this passage in Scripture, and others, when it comes to parenting.  

PRAY: We need God's equipping in our parenting, let us seek His wisdom, guidance, and strength for each day and every child.  Only He can empower us and use us as the tools to train up our children in the way they should go, and only HE can save them.  It starts on our knees.  Pray they remember.

TEACH:  We must teach our children the Word of God from birth, and even before.  We must instill a love for the Living and Active Words of the Creator in their hearts and lives.  That foundation is vital.  They must be taught that only here is TRUTH found, that this is where ALL answers to life lie.  They must see a love in us for the Word of God, an example to follow.  They must be taught to cherish this Word.

PREACH: There are so many stories we want to and should teach our children from Scripture, but ALL stories must point them back to the cross and the Gospel.  We must put the cross in focus as the centrality of all of life, and make sure that they realize, from a young age, the glory of it all.

INSTRUCT: If we instruct our kids from a young age with Gospel centered discipline and correction, we will instill something foundational in their hearts...that their HEART is the problem, that they need a Savior, and that only Christ can save.  When they fail to obey, we must show them why they cannot obey in and of themselves, when they harbor anger at a brother or sister, we must show them that it is impossible to love rightly unless you have experienced true love from God the Father through Christ etc.

EXAMPLE: Do they see us LIVE the Gospel?  Yes, we might preach it to them, we might discipline them by using it, but have they seen it in action in our marriage, in our relationship with them, and with others?  Do they see Jesus in us?  Are we humble enough to repent in front of them, or even ask their forgiveness when we are wrong?  They must SEE the Gospel in action.

Yes, we want homes filled with Christian values and morality, but may that never be our aim as Christian parents.  May we seek to rather have homes that are filled with the Gospel, and children who are changed forever by its power!

Where's the Balance?

Balance- it is a word with a simple definition: an even distribution.  In the Christian life however it is anything but easy.  No matter where I am in my walk with the Lord, or who I read from (living or dead), there seems to be this constant struggle to find the balance in many areas of the Christian life.  Most recently I have thought about, prayed about, and been studying about balance when it comes to my pursuit of holiness vs my rest in the Gospel.  

We come across verses like these: verses that call us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12), or command us to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit (2 Cor. 7:1), or warn against even a hint of immorality among the saints (Eph. 5:3).

And then we come across verses like these: 
"So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;  for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for Hisgood pleasure." -Philippians 2:12-13

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age." -Titus 2:11-12

How am I as a Christian supposed to FULLY rest in the Gospel and what Jesus did on the cross and yet REQUIRED to pursue holiness and righteousness in my own life?  How does my pursuit stay clear of legalism?  This question plagues my heart and mind continually, and although I believe I have grown in my understanding of the answer, I know that I will never exhaust the Truth, or resolve the tension this side of heaven.  I have come to accept the fact that God doesn't want me to FULLY grasp these Truths.  

You see, how can I PERFECTLY pursue holiness while trusting fully in the Gospel?  I would have to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ in its entirety, pining every depth, and my own sinfulness yet redeemed righteousness in its completeness...impossible this side of perfection.  But I believe this is exactly where God wants us to be.  He gives to us His Word, His Spirit, and the grace to grow; and yet we will never arrive.  There will never be a day, before heaven, where we somehow know all the answers and have mastered the Christian life.  It wasn't meant to be.  It is a PROGRESSIVE Christian life, not a perfect one.  And in that Truth I can rest.  

Does knowing this make me lazy?  Quite the opposite.  If I know that God has promised to work IN me (Philippians 2) and that He has given me the Holy Spirit to walk a life worthy of what I have been called to and to say no to sin, how much more of a motivation and a hope to I have to pursue holiness and righteous living in this life?! It is all the more compelling knowing there is power in Him to live a holy life.  

The BALANCE comes in my remembering WHO is at work, WHY He is at work and HOW He is at work.  If I lose sight of that, my motivation can easily become self-centered, self-serving and even self-righteous.  When Paul says to examine ourselves in 2 Corinthians 13, he is actually making a plea to look and see if you see JESUS in you!  Does your life mirror Christ?  He isn't asking the believer to sit down and examine how many ministries they are serving in, how perfect their holy living is, etc., but rather how their life is reflecting Jesus Christ in fruits of the Spirit, in deeds, and in words and heart.  I think that is such a precious reminder to all of us that the balance is JESUS!  The balance is keeping your eyes fixed on Him and what He did on the cross for you and for me and walking as He walked (striving to live a holy life).  

Charles Spurgeon says it well, “Now, what is it to have Jesus Christ in you? The Roman Catholic hangs the cross on his bosom; true Christian carries the cross in his heart; and a cross inside the heart, my friends, is one of the sweetest cures for a cross on the back. If you have a cross in your heart - Christ crucified in you, the hope of glory - all the cross of this world’s troubles will seem to you light enough, and you will easily be able to sustain it. Christ in the heart means Christ believed in, Christ beloved, Christ trusted, Christ espoused, Christ communed with, Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the temple and palace wherein Jesus Christ daily walks.”