The Obvious Crashing Over Me

The Christian group Building 429 has a song titled, “Glory Defined,” and the second stanza really caught my attention the other day:

It’s always the simple things
It’s always the obvious, that crashes over me
It’s always in front of me
It helps me to remember
That this is what I lived for
And I can’t wait

Are you living for God? That’s an easy question to answer if we do so without really contemplating on it. The obvious answer is, “Yes, of course I am.” However, do I get up each morning and purpose in my heart to live for Jesus? Do I decide that all I do during my day is for the glory of God? At the end of the day, how many actions and attitudes can I point back to and know that God would approve?

It is really easy to look at our works we perform for our church and say, “See, these I do for the Lord.” Nevertheless, if I do not approach them with a servant’s heart, then all I am doing is boasting about my service. What I do for the Lord Jesus Christ should be from an attitude of gratitude for all He has done and is doing for me. This is an important step in maintaining a strong relationship with Jesus. The Apostle Paul explains:

    “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)

Almost every nonbeliever I talk to believes he or she is going to heaven because their good outweighs their bad. That’s not only a recipe for a final destination in hell, but it is also a bad way to live life. Other than in some classrooms, life doesn’t grade us on a curve. The business world doesn’t operate that way, which is why so many businesses fail.

We cannot live a perfect enough life to earn our way into heaven. Even as Christians, we cannot try to obey the Ten Commandments to attain righteousness in our own strength. Though the law acts as a mirror for our lives, we cannot alone attempt to reach righteousness through it. It takes the grace of God to do so.

My email address has a 221 in it; some have asked if that is my birthday or the day I came to Christ (as in February 21st). It actually is from one of my life verses:

    “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

The first time that I finally understood that verse was a watershed moment in my life. I realized that I was trying to live a righteous life outside of the grace of God. Every time that I did so, I failed or at least stumbled.

For me to live as Christ, I have to rely upon Christ. On my own, I cannot attain righteousness, neither before or after salvation. I needed Christ’s grace to get saved, and I need His grace to live for Him. My nature is not to be gracious, so I have to rely upon the supernatural grace of Jesus to live such a life.

Too often, we Bible teachers can complicate Christian living. However, the Bible gives us simple instructions on how to live our lives. Jesus gave us the model prayer. Paul taught us about the fruit of the Spirit. Peter reminded us of the Old Testament teaching of being holy because God is holy.

As I’ve written many times before, simple doesn’t always mean easy. It usually means just the opposite. However, we are not alone in this journey of righteousness. The simple plan of salvation and sanctification are both right in front of us. The Bible is our text and the Holy Spirit is our teacher. We just need to be willing students.

This doesn’t have to be complicated. When we come to that realization, then the obvious will come crashing over us.

In Christ
Dave
Ps. 37:4

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    Copyright © 2016 David Jeffers

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