3. Seeking Intimacy with Christ
Scriptures:
- John 10:10
Observations:
"The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy..."
In context, the thief is whoever is not the shepherd. In the same passage, Christ identifies himself as the Shepherd. So, I think it's safe to say that anything other than Christ which is presenting itself to us as something good and fulfilling, ultimately serves the express purpose detailed above - to steal us away from God, to kill us (to kill our joy, to kill our hope, to kill our faith, etc), and to destroy us (to keep us from following or turning to God).
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
So, we see that choosing God leads to life, in comparison, but we're not just talking basic subsistence, living on scraps type of life, but a life that overflows.
Now, that doesn't mean we'll all be flying private jets like Creflo Dollar, but it means that we will have enough of what we need and plenty of the things that truly make life worthwhile: Love, joy, hope, forgiveness, etc.
Applications:
This, really, is the first key to true satisfaction. resting in God and allowing him to meet your needs, being grateful for what he has given and is giving to you.
I think satisfaction was a part of what led me to sin. I was not plugging as deeply into God; I was seeking things outside of my relationship with God or my wife for satisfaction; and these things were not satisfying. Looking back, this has been going on for easily two years, with undercurrents predisposing me to such an attitude running far longer. I allowed myself to follow the thief instead of waiting for the shepherd, while convincing myself I was following the shepherd.
So, I need to, again, cling to Christ, being satisfied in him and finding my value in him, not in others' perspectives or conversations, or activities, or desserts, or certain other sins which do not need to be mentioned here.
~ ~ ~
The Love Dare
Day 5: Love Is Not Rude
"To be rude is to act unbecoming, embarrassing, or irritating. In marriage, this could be ... a habit of making sarcastic quips."
Dang. Got me. I'm almost never directing them at my wife... at least not the mean ones, anyways, but I'm definitely full of a probably unhealthy dose of snark and sarcasm.
"When a man is driven by love, he intentionally behaves in a way that's more pleasant for his wife to be around."
"Good manners expresses to your wife or husband, 'I value you enough to exercise some self-control around you."
"There are two main reasons why people are rude: ignorance and selfishness... You know the rules but can be blind to how you break them or be too self-centered to care."
These just hit pretty hard. Yeah, I'm full of sarcasm and snark and it's not good. Most of it stems from condescension, especially toward those who appear ignorant to me. In relational cases, I think it's a defense mechanism, keeping myself at a distance from anything that could even come close to making me feel something by standing back and skewering it with my tongue.
Prayer:
In private again, but I'm praying over my selfishness, rudeness, and sarcasm; drawing nearer to God and finding greater satisfaction in him, asking for strength in my daily war against sin, and for my wife.
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