Sunday, July 27, 2008

Christ as King

"No one who is a real follower of Christ is merely one outwardly. Neither is transformation ever just outward and physical. The term "Christian" is for those who live from the inside out, whose transformation is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by good works. So it goes for this person that they strive to find their acceptance in Christ, seeking His praise, not man's."

Something for a long while that has bothered me is the disheartning fact that there are many who call themselves Christians, yet in no way can you tell the difference between them and the non Christian. I think much of this is due to the fact that they don't view Christ as their King. They don't see Him as the One who rules over them, but rather more of someone who comes along side them to help them accomplish their goals. He's only allowed in when invited, taken out of the pocket when needed. The truth is, is that there is nothing that is not His. He owns everything and everyone. Revelation 1:5 says that Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, is the ruler of the kings of the earth. 1st Corinthians 15:27-28 says "For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all."
He made everything, it only makes sense that it's all His. He rules over the physical, the invisible, every mountain, every thought. He rules over Christians and non Christians. He rules over every single aspect of our lives individually, there's no part that's not His. He rules over our time, our money, our clothes, our cars, our jobs. It's all His. Abraham Kuyper said " There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existance over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry "Mine!" Jesus calls us to relinquish authority of our life so that every part can be continual sanctified. James 4:5 says "Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to live in us envies intensely?" He wants every single part of us.
There is a big difference between seeing Jesus as just your "Savior" and seeing Him as your Savior AND "Lord" Because as just Savior, I feel as though He can be used for just when you need one. But as Lord, you make yourself all His. 1st Corinthians 6:19-20 says "...You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a price..."
He has given us our lives to be good stewards with.

So in the end I've come to see that Jesus doesn't want every part of who we are just so He can reign over us and tell us what to do, but because He is madly in love with us, because He knows that our wholeness is dependent on our giving all of ourselves to Him, and because He has created our desires and our need for things and knows that they can really only find their full satisfaction in Him alone.

More verses on topic i found that i really like:
Isaiah 40:22-23 says "God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing."

Daniel 7:13 says "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

5 comments:

Brian Gloor said...

AWESOME MAN. Love it...

Heather Stevens said...

SETH! ur blogging now! that's awesome! you are amazing and im glad you can put your thoughts out so we can all see them!

Sarah (Koutz) Johnson said...

Welcome to the blogging world! I look forward to reading. You are officially on my reader.

It has been a little while since I've talked to you. I hope all is well.

Megan Stevens said...

wow! that's all I can say! thats INCREDIBLE! you have such a great heart...if i ever think or feel things like that i write it in journal to read over later, i typically don't like others to know what i feel like. So I totally look up to you! You're amazing!

Anonymous said...

hello seth! i saw from dc's blog that you have a blog now so i decided to check it out and wow your last little blog, or journal entry or whatever you call it really made me think. what you wrote/typed is 100 % true and it's something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. God IS madly in love with us. For me though, it’s really hard to believe that a god SO big wants every part of me. For the past 2 days I’ve been up at the beach with my cross country team running along the beach in the morning when no one is there. When you can hear every wave that comes on to the shore, and at sunset you see the sky turn pink... and it’s just so gorgeous and wonderful that our God makes things like that for us to just look at and be in awe of Him because he is that much in love with us. Anywaysssss... it was just really humbling and it really allowed me to see the VASTNESS of His creation and how insignificant MY agenda is. I want my agenda to be GODS agenda. and your blog was exactly what i needed to hear. so i thought i'd share a little bit of what i've been thinking about lately. sorry if it was a total snooze cruise. SEE YA !

"It is no longer that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress all of you. Christ lives in me.The life you see me living is not “mine”, but it is lived by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going back on that.”
Galatians 2:19-21

- cassie from camp !