No Holding Back

It feels so good to be caught up in God's presence again!  Every day He continues to refresh my spirit with sweet promises of forgiveness and grace (probably the two most overused and misunderstood terms in Christianity).  I've truly been able to breathe in His goodness and unfailing love.

I've been learning so much lately that I feel led to share.  Maybe it's something that God needs to remind us every once in a while.  I find that the simplest truths are the ones that hit home the most when we really get them.  We're just so used to hearing some of these things that we don't take the time to really sit and think about it.

What about the mind of Christ?  Yes, if you are a Christian, you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:11-16).  That's craziness!  Have you ever thought about that? Think about all that Christ did in his few years on earth.  And to think that we have His mind....it's unreal.  I just couldn't get over that the other day.  All day, I just kept saying to myself, "I have the mind of Christ?  I have the mind of Christ!"  I think it's ironic how much we rely on the advice and approval of others when we have the God of the heavens living inside of us, ready to guide us and direct our paths if we simply ask (1 John 5:14-15, John 5:39-40).

The other thing that's been heavy on my heart is human approval.  It's so easy to get caught up in making other people happy, or even avoiding discussing certain topics so it won't be "awkward."  Yes, I'll admit it.  Sometimes I don't even bring up my faith in my conversations because I'm afraid or because I think from then on, our relationship will be uncomfortable.  But does it matter?  God has placed in me a new heart that is driven by His love, how could I possibly hold that back from someone?  It would be a cruel punishment, to tell you the truth.  To think that I have the answer that they've been searching for their whole life, but I choose to keep it to myself.  What is that?  (2 Timothy 2:15) Why am I so concerned with being socially correct over spiritually obedient? 

Imagine one of your friends wandering with you in the desert.  One day, you decide to take a walk and discover a pond of life-giving water.  And (let's make this magical), if you swim under the water, you can go to a distant land that sustains you forever.  Once you make this discovery, you never go back to tell your friend.  You leave him or her parched and thristy, dying and gasping for a chance to truly live.  But it doesn't matter, because you're happy and you're living the life.  Sounds pretty selfish, right?

I can't continue to hold back.  God has a purpose for me each day.  Each day, there's someone who needs that smile, or that word of encouragement.  And there's someone who needs to hear the Gospel.  If it's my guess, there's multiple people in a day that need those things.  To hold that back from them is not what I was created for.  What about you?