I have one last post I have to make about Francis Chan's Crazy love. Near the end of the book he talks about Phil 3:18-19 and then he has a quote from Annie Dillard.
Let me share both with you and then give you some of my thoughts:
Phil 3:18-19 For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
WOW!! Paul is seriously harsh. He is saying many people (who think they are Christians) live as enemies of Jesus and are actually going straight to hell. They are going their because of 3 things:
- Their stomach is their god. They are about their own desires and personal pleasure instead of Christ's desires and His pleasure and glory.
- Their glory is their shame. They brag about how they do the wrong thing, live selfishly, and focus on their own personal status.
- Their mind is on earthly things. They focus on this life and what they can get out of it for themselves versus thinking how they can please Christ, honor Jesus and point more people toward heaven.
People that live those kind of lives are not really Christians. They might go to church, sing songs and know Bible stories but, "destruction is their destiny."
I don't want to live that way. I want each day to be lived putting aside my own pleasure for Christ's pleasure and glory. I want to be known as a person who gets uncomfortable for the glory of Christ.
The quote from Annie Dillard says: How we live our day is... how we live our lives.
Or what I do today is really what I believe about God. What I do today is what my life will turn out to be about. It is not what I say I believe that counts. It is what I did that counts in the end.
So I pray that I actually live today for Christ's glory and set aside my own pleasure today and don't just claim to do this.
Jesus, I seek your pleasure today not my own.
I seek to point people to the comfort of your arms, not to live for personal comfort.
God help me make you famous TODAY!!