Tag: Servant

What is Biblical Manhood?

by JacobChristian Living

Biblical manhood is sorely lacking in our world today, but what does it mean to be a man of God? We’ll examine the basics in this introduction.

Please note: this article only covers the basics. There will be more articles posted to this site soon that deal with different topics related to being a Biblical man. It's a wide-reaching topic with many different avenues to explore!

As a young man myself, Biblical manhood is a topic that sits near and dear to my heart.

What does it mean to be a Christian man? What is Biblical manhood?

Let us cut right to the point: being a man of God is about putting Christ first in everything you do. That may sound like a ‘well… duh!’ statement, but hear me out.

There are two super-broad callings that God assigns to human beings in adulthood. If you’re female, you’re called to be a woman of God. If you’re male, you’re called to be a man of God.

These two callings have a great deal of overlap. Both men and women are called to submit fully to Jesus. Both are called to love sacrificially. Both are called to respect and honor other people. Both are created with equal worth before God, and both are equally vital in this life.

Without Biblical womanhood, things go wrong. Without Biblical manhood, things go wrong.

Now, while both of these roles are very similar in some ways, they’re also very different in others. Here are a few examples:

  1. Men (as husbands) are called to be the “head” of their households. Women (as wives) are called to submit to their husbands. (Ephesians 5:23-24).
  2. Men are called to love their wives as Christ loved the Church. Women are called to respect their husbands. (Ephesians 5:25-32).
  3. Men are called to provide and protect their families (1 Timothy 5:8).

Obviously, these are not exhaustive. There are many further distinctions made between men and women in Scripture. Suffice it to say that (a) the callings of Biblical womanhood and manhood are equally important and are alike in many ways, and (b) these two callings are also different and distinct in many ways.

The Distinct Calling of Biblical Manhood

Many in today’s culture will take issue with the idea that the callings of men and women are separate. However, you cannot get away from this idea in Scripture. If we’re being true to everything the Bible says, we must admit that Biblical manhood and Biblical womanhood are distinct callings of equal importance and equal worth.

Anyone who teaches that there is no distinction between manhood and womanhood is teaching incorrectly. On the other hand, anyone who teaches that manhood is superior to womanhood (or vice-versa) is also teaching incorrectly.

They’re separate, vital, and equal. Both are absolutely essential. Both are necessary. Both have many things in common.

But they’re distinct.

For men, the calling of Biblical manhood is inherently leadership-oriented. We are called to submit fully to Jesus in all that we do, and out of this submission, we are called to lead sacrificially.

If you’re an adult male who believes upon Jesus Christ, congrats: you’re a leader. You may or may not know it yet, but that is what you’re called to be. You may not feel ready for it yet, but that’s what you’re called to be.

Now, don’t get me wrong – biblical womanhood also involves leadership. But it’s generally exercised in a different way.

When I say “leadership,” I mean that men are called to get out in front and plow the proverbial snow off the roads so that others can walk behind them. Biblical manhood is about bearing burdens so that others don’t have to.

The Nature of Biblical Manhood

A man of God is called to lead. But before we can talk about leadership, we have to talk about the essence – or the nature – of genuine Biblical manhood.

To do this, let’s first look at what it is not.

One of the world’s most common misconceptions of manhood is that it is all about rugged individualism, self-reliance, muscle, and testosterone.

Take the American “ideal” of a man: he is tall, muscular, drinks beer, plays/watches sports, dominates at the office, takes home a big paycheck, has a trophy wife (or girlfriend), drives a sleek and sporty car, and puts his own sensual pleasures above all other things.

He needs no one, and – perhaps by association – no one truly needs him. He’s a free agent who can do his own thing on his own time.

How do I know this? I’ve watched a lot of TV, seen a lot of movies, and met a lot of people. If you’ve been immersed in American culture for any significant length of time, you will have to nod your head in agreement with what I’ve just written.

Our culture subliminally tells men that there is something wrong with them if they’re not muscular, sexually promiscuous, fun-loving, and money-oriented. According to the popular culture, a man ought to be someone who can get whatever he wants whenever he wants.

And that has been our ideal – more or less – since the 1950s. But here’s the problem: it’s wrong.

The American ideal of a man is something birthed out of consumerism. If you read back through the description written above, you will find that you can distill it down to one base essence: a man is defined by what he consumes.

This is why you can watch NFL games on TV and every commercial is about beer, cars, and medicines designed to increase a man’s sexual performance. The message is this: your manhood is defined by what you consume.

Want to be more manly? Drink this beer.

What to be more manly? Buy this car.

Want to be more manly? Take this medicine and have your share of fun.

Pop culture manhood is about consumption. But Biblical manhood stands in sharp relief to this.

Biblical manhood is about what you PRODUCE.

This is where the rubber meets the road. Men of God are supposed to be givers, not takers. They’re producers, not consumers. A man of God should not ask himself, “What can I get out of this?”

Rather, he should ask himself, “What can I give?”

Biblical manhood is about what you produce; it’s about adding value to others’ lives. Therefore, a Biblical man is first and foremost a servant. Nowhere was this more perfectly modeled than in the life of Jesus Christ, who is our ideal for what true manhood looks like.

Jesus, though He was unlimited in power and incomprehensible in intellect, humbled Himself to the point of dying on the cross for us. He endured not only physical pain, but spiritual anguish and the mockery of the world.

In fact, if you could go back in time to the day Jesus was crucified, you would find that virtually nobody considered Him a “success.” Instead, they would say He died for nothing. They would label Him at the very most a dangerous heretic, and at the very least a blundering fool whose life was marked by delusion.

How could someone with such power – after all, He claimed to be God – meet such a shameful death? Even in the days of ancient Rome, the popular culture’s ideal of masculinity was corrupt.

Jesus did not die a wealthy man. He did not die a powerful man, except in the eyes of those few who truly followed Him. He did not die a glorious death. His end was met on a cross, at the hands of executioners. The Roman ideal for death would have been one of heroic sacrifice in battle, where one laid down his life for the good of his fellow soldiers.

To the eyes of the world, Christ did not die an honorable or glorious death.

He died in shame, in dishonor, and – though He claimed to be God and claimed to bring a new kingdom to the world – was instead arrested, beaten, and killed. To all who watched, it seemed that this man had a mission… and failed in the most miserable and lowly ways possible.

But you and I know the truth.

Did Jesus really fail in His mission? Of course not! His life was not marked by delusion, weakness, and failure (as the pop culture of His day thought), but rather consistent humility, servanthood, and sacrifice. That is our template for manhood.

Truly, we have some big shoes to fill.

What does the life of Jesus Christ teach us about what it looks like to be a man? It teaches us that we do not define success in terms of dollars signs, possessions, or sexual partners. We do not define success in terms of power or position. We don’t even get to define success by what others think of us.

We define our success as Biblical men by one standard only: are we living for Christ, and in doing so, are we laying our lives down for the good of others?

That is the benchmark by which we measure Biblical manhood.

Biblical Manhood is About Leading Well

Leadership – particularly the leadership that should be embodied by men of God – deserves a long article in its own right. I fully plan on writing one soon. But as we near the end of this post, I’d like to simply touch briefly on the necessity of leadership.

Biblical men are leaders. But this leadership is not about “getting your way.”

Because our culture’s ideal of masculinity is corrupted, our culture’s ideal of leadership is also corrupted. Many people believe that leaders are those who always come first, who get the biggest portions, and who receive the most favorable treatment. They believe that leaders are those who, either by seniority or competence, deserve and receive the “best.”

But nothing could be further from the truth.

That is what our culture says leadership is, but it’s not true leadership. The culture’s view of leadership is one where the leader is being served, whereas Biblical leadership is all about serving others.

Jesus is our foremost example in this area. Just as He perfectly modeled Biblical manhood, He also perfectly modeled the Biblical standard of leadership.

As was shown earlier, Christ’s life was a constant example of sacrifice and servanthood. He was the leader of all leaders, the most perfect leader the world has ever seen.

And what did it get Him?

Well, it got Him crucified. Christ’s leadership was a constant laying down of His own interests for others. Christ did nothing from selfish ambition and nothing for the sake of gaining fame or fortune. He did everything out of sincere love and deep sacrifice.

This is our example.

Christ exemplified Biblical manhood, and – in doing so – Biblical leadership. As a man of God, your call is to die to yourself and use your strength to stand up for others. It’s a call to seek the welfare of your family, your friends, and your neighbors before yourself.

It is a call to imitate Jesus, and while we will never perfectly do this, it is up to us to submit to Him as best we can, trusting Him to empower us to live a life of service and worship.

As a last resource, please feel free to check out Paul Washer’s teachings on Biblical manhood. You can find them on YouTube and on other online sites. Here’s a shorter video that serves well as an introduction:

God bless.

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Choose Who You Will Serve

by JacobChristian Living

We face many choices in life. But the most important is this: you get to choose who you will serve. Will it be idols, or will it be the One True God? 

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” [Joshua 24:14-15, ESV]

The ancient Israelites were a people of contradictions. On one hand, they saw the great and awesome signs performed by God Himself. They were delivered from Egypt by His very hand, sustained by Him in the desert, and led by Him in battle.

But on the other hand, the Israelites were disobedient. Time and time again, they turned to false gods and idols. Time and time again, they turned their back on God.

Much of the Old Testament can be summed up as the story of a loving God and His disobedient people. The Israelites strayed. They made mistakes. They walked away from the very Father who provided for them and loved them.

Jesus even lamented, 

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” [Matthew 23:37-39, ESV]

Think about it: how often had the Israelites seen God’s faithfulness? When they wandered in the wilderness, manna and quail were provided to them every day like clockwork. When they entered the Promised Land, God delivered their enemies into their hands.

God spoke to them and ruled them directly.

But they backslid and turned away constantly. They had idols.

The Israelites, quite simply, are like you and me.

Wandering Hearts

There is something within every man and woman that causes them to wander away from God. This is nothing less than our sin nature.

Our sin nature causes us to seek our own path. It causes us to seek our own desires.

Do you ever have a desire within you that’s contrary to what God wants? Of course you do. We all do. Sin is anything that separates us from God – and sin is disobedience to God.

Every day, we are tempted to disobey God. Whether you’re a new Christian or a seasoned Christian, that doesn’t change. Temptations are always there.

And we will all fail the test sometimes.

Each day, we are presented with a question: who will you serve? We’re presented with this question many times a day.

A lustful thought enters your mind. Who will you serve?

You’re tempted to lie. Who will you serve?

You want to spend your money on something you know you don’t need. Who will you serve?

Just like the ancient Israelites – many of whom fell into the trap of serving other gods – we are tempted to turn our backs on God. We’re tempted to pledge our allegiance to our desires and our wants.

We are tempted to make idols for ourselves, serving these idols rather than our Father in Heaven.

Do You Have an Idol?

What is an idol?

An idol is anything in your life that you consider more important than God.

Sports can be an idol, as can physical fitness. Money can be an idol. Sex can be an idol. Power and achievement can be idols. Even family and friends and children, as precious as these people may be to us, can be idols.

Let me ask you a tough question: do you value your spouse or your kids (or your other family, if you’re single) above God? Odds are, you know the answer to this question. Idolizing your family – those you love most dearly in the world – is perhaps one of the most natural things you can do.

Now, is it wrong to love your family? Absolutely not. You are supposed to love them – it’s even commanded in the Bible. But your first and foremost love is always supposed to be God. Your love for God is the love out of which all your love for others – for friends, for family, for co-workers, for the poor, for the lost – is to be founded upon.

But loving someone (or something) before God is idolatry.

And when you have an idol, you will serve that idol.

If you idolize video games, for example, you’ll spend all your time and much of your money on them. You’ll invest your effort and your energy in them.

If you idolize money, your entire life will be focused on gaining more and more money.

Any idol you have – no matter what it is – will take the place of God in your life. Just like the Israelites, who went after other gods and other idols, you will be turning away from God and serving something else.

Why You Should Serve God

Joshua presented the wayward Israelites with an ultimatum: choose this day whom you will serve.

They had wavered back and forth, vacillating between serving God and serving idols. But their disobedience and indecision could be tolerated no more.

“Choose,” Joshua said.

In our lives, we are being called to choose between serving God and serving our idols. Jesus Himself says, in Matthew 6:24, that you cannot serve two masters.

To choose God is to choose against our idols. To choose our idols is to choose against God.

Here’s why we should choose to serve God.

1: Because He is Worthy.

This is the foremost reason as to why we should choose to serve God.

Our God is a worthy God.

The Bible tells us that God created the world and everything in it, including man (Gen. 1). God is the provider of salvation and the author and finisher of our faith (Heb. 12:2). He is able to do exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20).

God was under no obligation to provide us with a way of salvation. He could have left us dead in our sins and stranded in our trespasses. Yet God, rich in mercy and full of love, so loved the world that He gave us His only Son (John 3:16).

Revelation puts it succinctly by saying, 

Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created. [Rev. 4:11, ESV]

Our God is the creator and sustainer of all things. Everything you see and feel and interact with – the sun and rain, the hills and mountains, the oceans and the air – was created by Him. And that same God wants a personal relationship with you and I.

Just let that sink in!

You would probably go slack-jawed if the president of the United States personally called you tomorrow morning and told you that he wanted to be your best friend. So how much more incredible is it that the almighty God – creator and sustainer of all life and all matter – wants to be your lord, savior, friend, and father?

God is worthy. Just for that reason, we ought to serve Him.

2: Because It’s Best For Us

One of the greatest things about God is that He, being the author and designer of humanity, knows us best.

Think about it: we go to see a doctor if we’re sick. We go to see a counselor if we’re dealing with mental health issues. Why is this?

Because these people have studied physiology and psychology. They know things that we don’t. A doctor is more capable than we are to diagnose a health issue. A therapist is more capable than we are to help us through anxiety or depression.

In a similar vein, listen to what Jesus says in Matthew 9:11: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.”

Jesus spoke these words to a group of Pharisees who reviled Him for spending time with sinners and tax collectors. The Pharisees, in all their self righteousness, thought themselves far above associating with such people.

But Jesus’ message was this: I am able to heal. I have come to heal the sick people. I have come to make them well.

God can make you well.

God is the “great physician,” the one who knows us intimately and knows our condition better than we do. He designed humanity, so is it any surprise that He would be the One most qualified to minister to us and help us? God knows us better than we know ourselves.

Don’t you want deep fellowship with this God? Don’t you want to side with the One who knows you, loves you, and can minister to you in ways that nobody else could ever dream of?

Serve God. It’s what is best for you.

3: Because Others Will Benefit

The kindest, strongest, and most influential people in my life have been Christians. These men and women seem to radiate a confidence and an assurance that nobody else can.

These people are like anchors in the waves; they are solid foundations in the midst of trouble. Jeremiah tells us, 

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
  whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water,
  that sends out its roots by the stream, 
and does not fear when heat comes,
  for its leaves remain green,
and it is not anxious in the year of drought,
  for it does not cease to bear fruit. [Jeremiah 17:7-8, ESV]

Do you want to be a “tree planted by water?” The Bible tells us that Jesus provides living water, and that those who drink from Him will never again thirst.

If you choose to serve God with all you are and everything you have, you WILL be like a tree planted by the waters. When times of drought come, you’ll remain strong. You will be a place of shelter and safety and love for those around you.

Fathers, do you want to provide for your wife and children? Do you want the best for them?

Mothers, do you want the best for your husband and children? Do you want to be a place of strength and anchored help for them?

If so, I exhort you to serve God! Choose to serve Him, and you will be able to bear burdens and provide for others in ways that you wouldn’t be able to alone.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re a fellow believer, you will face the temptation to turn from God and seek your own way. Many of you may already be walking down that path that leads away from the Father.

But here’s the news I bring to you today: it is never too late to turn back.

That’s what repentance is: a turning away from sin and a turning towards God. Choose this day whom you will serve, and choose to serve the Lord. Choose to turn back to Him. Repent of your sin and idolatry, and turn back to Him.

He may not bless you with easier circumstances, a better job, more wealth, or solid health. He may not bless you with more friends or with that long-desired spouse or child.

But He will bless you… make no mistake!

You will be blessed with a strength and confidence that comes only from Him. You will stand strong in the day of trouble, even when it seems impossible to remain strong. You will bend in the wind of the storm, but you will not break.

When you choose to serve God, you must also choose to do so with all your heart. You must be committed to loving Him more than you love anyone or anything else. You must be committed to giving up all you have in this world to follow Him.

This may seem radical, and it is. This may seem like loss, and it is. Scripture says that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field. Once you find it, you sell EVERYTHING you have to buy that field! (Matt. 12:44)

Why sell all you have? Why give up your rights, your freedoms, your self-determination, your idols, your comforts?

Because these were never leading you anywhere good in the first place.

You see, serving other gods – money, fame, power, influence, friendship, relationship, sex, drugs, etc. – feels good in the moment. Your society is constantly bombarding you with messages to just cave in and seek these things. But in the end, the pursuit of these things leads to your ruin. It leads to your demise.

The pursuit of God leads only to life.

Give up what you have for God, and you will receive far, far more than you ever thought possible. Give up your life to Him, and you will find more life than you can possibly imagine.

That is what it means to serve God. It means you give up all you have, no strings attached, and that you come to Him without anything in your hand.

Here I am, Lord. Send me.

It means you sell (metaphorically) everything you have to seek Him. You seek Him and serve Him and love Him with all your heart!

Choosing to serve God is an invitation to choose to give up everything you have ever possessed. But choosing to serve God is also an invitation to inherit more joy, more life, and more love than you could ever possibly imagine.

Choose this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.

God bless you!

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Who do You Live For?

by JacobChristian Living

Today’s culture is selling you something. It’s written all over the commercials you see on TV. It’s in books, it’s in songs; it’s in movies and shows. It is the driving force behind almost every popular movement that springs up, dominates the airwaves, and then dies down again. It saturates our academics and forms the foundation of our commerce.

It is all-reaching, and no matter who you are or where you live, there is no escaping it.

Do you know what it is?

It’s selfishness.

We live in what is perhaps the most self-centered culture the world has ever known. Commercials bombard us on a daily basis with the promise that we can “have it all.” Self-help books peddle the idea that the only way to be happy is to ‘learn to love yourself.’ Business ethics have largely gone by the wayside, and the preferred method to get ahead is to be the one who pushes everyone else down in a ruthless climb up the corporate ladder.

The phrase used to be, “Nice guys finish first.” But in recent times, that’s been replaced by the far more sinister, “Nice guys finish last.”

Indeed, the world’s teaching is that the one sure way of getting ahead in life is to focus entirely on you. How often have you heard people say that they’re “going to focus more on me?” How often have you been told that you must “love yourself, no matter what?” Or what about this one: “Your only responsibility is to yourself?”

Let me ask another question: is this a right way to go about life, or is it dreadfully wrong? If we go to the Bible, we’ll see the answer provided to us as clear as day.

We will start with a visit to 2 Timothy 3, concentrating on verses 1 through 5.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

That’s quite an indictment on these men and women. Nearly twenty different words and phrases are used to describe their conduct, not one of which is positive. Now, note also that verse 1 contains within it the phrase, “in the last days.” On this topic, the MacArthur Study Bible commentary states,

“The word for “times” had to do with epochs, rather than clock or calendar time. Such savage, dangerous eras or epochs will increase in frequency and severity as the return of Christ approaches. The church age is fraught with these dangerous movements accumulating strength as the end nears. The last days. This phrase refers to this age, the time since the first coming of the Lord Jesus.”

Following from this, it’s clear that we are indeed living “in the last days,” and have been for nearly two thousand years. However, as the time of Christ’s return draws nearer, the severity of sinfulness and deceit will increase, giving rise to an era marked by increasingly selfish, dominating, calloused, and unloving individuals.

Sound familiar?

Moving on, James 3:16 gives us another (much shorter) passage on the vices of selfishness.

“For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Once more, we see another fundamental force of our culture outlined in this text. How many times have you felt a hot surge of anger when someone else got what you thought you deserved? We all feel this way at times – I certainly have – but many people in today’s world are allowing this type of behavior to define them. We are taught by prevailing cultural wisdom that jealousy is good, and that it’s perfectly healthy – even expected – to have selfish desires that nearly control your life.

Yet the Bible tells us that wherever jealousy, wherever hardness of heart, wherever self-seeking, self-centered ambitions exist, there will be consequences. Such is our society today – a culture filled with selfishness and envy, a culture where revenge is looked upon as a virtue. It’s a society wherein parents are subservient to children, abusive spouses are ubiquitous, and minor disagreements are met with furious retaliation.

It’s all the horror and darkness in this world that causes many an idealist to look out the window and muse something like, ‘We humans are terrible. We ruin everything we touch. We wreck the environment and oppress the weak, and we just carry on like nothing is wrong.’

Indeed, to the one without Christ, there is no hope. We live in a dark world, a world filled with selfishness and injustice and sin, and that’s not going to change, at least not for now. But for those who have Jesus, there is hope. There is hope overflowing, hope that never ends, hope that abounds to the ends of the earth.

You see, God is not mocked. He is not caught by surprise. He knows our predicaments – every one of them – and yet He chose to send His only Son to die for us that we might have life, and that in that life He might have the ultimate glory.

He came to testify; He came to die, He came to be buried and then triumphantly rise again to the glory of God, having dealt sin a mortal blow. On that cross, Jesus Christ gained a resounding victory over death. He put Satan to utter shame. He destroyed the works of the devil. When He arose, He got up with every bit of power He possessed – which is to say, all the power there ever has been or ever will be – and He spread His arms wide.

He told us, in John 14:6,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.  From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

What a promise we have in our God! What an amazing Lord He is, that He would leave His place in heaven to humble Himself to the point of death on a cross.

With His sacrifice, God opened the door to Himself. He opened the door to eternal life in Him, to peace in this life, to abundant love in our hearts. But what He also said was this, in Luke 9:23 –

“…If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Today, most are familiar with the idea of salvation by faith alone – this is known by the Latin term Sola Fide – but comparatively rarer in teaching is the material found in Luke 9:23. Quite simply, to follow Jesus, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross day-by-day, and follow after Him. This isn’t optional. It isn’t an add-on, or a side activity. Following Christ requires one thing – your entire life. All you are, all your dreams, desires, faults, flaws, failings, and talents, belong to Him if you wish to follow Him.

Thus, I ask you: who do you live for? Modern culture teaches us that the highest purpose of life is to live for you. The Bible, on the other hand, teaches the exact opposite: to truly live, you must live for Christ. In Galatians 2:20, the Apostle Paul makes an incredible declaration of faith and surrender to the Lord,

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

These are not the words of a man who begrudgingly served the Lord Jesus. Paul speaks his praises without reservation, without inhibition. His writings are full of reverent obedience and heartfelt joy towards God, and towards the Son who brought him out of a life of sin and into a life of eternal significance.

Paul was content wherever he went. His joy and faith lied in Jesus, and Jesus Christ never failed him. Jesus never failed any of His apostles. He never failed any of His followers. He is the great shepherd who lays down His life for the flock, and who came to earth to serve the lowest of the low, that He might ascend to the highest of the high.

Christ, the suffering servant, the one who paid it all, now sits at the right hand of God. And He will never fail. He cannot fail! It is no more possible for Him to lose than it is for fire to become ice, or for the sun to become the moon.

But to truly know Him, to truly receive Him, we must surrender to Him. We must abide in Him. We must “take up our cross” and follow Him.

This will mean forsaking some of our own desires. It will mean giving up some of our perceived “freedom” to act in whatever way we want.

It will mean that we no longer live for us, but for Him. All those ideas about “focusing on me” or “being responsible only for myself” will be thrown out the window. Our idols, whatever they may have been or are, must be exchanged in favor of the One who is truly worthy of our worship and admiration.

Lay down your life and live for Christ. He is the only One who cannot fail, and the only One worthy of all praise and glory. He is the greatest friend you can ever have, the strongest king, and the closest of all brothers.

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