There’s so much more to life than trying to not mess up.
Sometimes we think we are being like Christ by not giving into temptation. While this is definitely a large part of living like Christ, it is certainly not the entirety of a Christ-like lifestyle. Living like Christ requires a deeper sense of passionate dedication, sacrifice, surrender, and obedience in order to do what we have been called to do. And that thing we have been called to do is to live like Christ.
Jesus did not come to this earth only to be tempted by the Devil in the desert, but to also sacrifice His life for us on the cross, and to ultimately honor His Heavenly Father.
While we convince ourselves that we are being good Christ followers when we overcome temptation, we are yet missing a large bulk of the true meaning of following Jesus. Much more is required of us by God than just surrendering our desire for evil. He wants it all, every single desire and action.
So many Christians preach a message that says that the only thing necessary to be a “good Christian” is to flee from temptation. Jesus shows us over and over again that this is not true. Look at his life. It was radical! He didn’t just hide himself from the world and focus on not sinning, but instead got out there and loved on everybody.
Jesus lived with the “least of these”. He walked with them, talked with them, ate with them, slept next to them. He not only was perfect and was absent of any form of sin, but He was also full of righteous, holiness, and glory! In my opinion, purity is the lack of evil, or being clean, but righteousness is being filled with what is right (righteousness = right in us). Jesus was not only pure, but also righteous!
What if Christians began to see that faith in God is not only about pushing away from evil things, but also about grabbing hold of godly things!
Let’s get out there, cause a ruckus, maybe do what Jesus tells us to do…feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. Why is obeying Jesus so radical in this day and age? I believe it is because we have focused so much on what NOT TO DO, instead of what TO DO. We have become so focused on our fear of sin that it has stifled us of truly walking with Jesus, when in all reality, if we would just focus on what we should be doing, our desires to do evil things will fall away.
If I am always focusing on what I shouldn’t be doing, how will I ever have time to do what I should be doing?
The only thing a fear of sin will do is cripple you. Sin is bad, yes, but never fear it. Why do we think we should fear sin? We have learned to fear anything bad and to mock what is good. Man, we are messed up.
I have noticed that as I begin to pursue God with all of my being, there tends to be little room left for any other pursuit. Let us begin to loosen the reigns that fear has on our lives by beginning to take a step of faith. Let us begin to focus on what TO DO, instead of always focusing on what NOT TO DO.
Joel R Widman 