It is one thing to be proud of what you represent, but another to be proud in yourself. I am not ashamed to say and show that I represent Christ in my life, but I do get pretty down on myself when too much of 'me' comes through, showing that side of me that wants the attention and glories in being the center of it. If it were not for the work of the Lord in my life, I would have a very miserable existence. My life course would have been dramatically different. How do I know that? I know full-well the course I was on before Christ grabbed hold of my heart and I began to hold onto his as though my very breath depended on it. It wasn't a good one and the path was headed for more than one form of disastrous outcome. Maybe you can say the same - we don't have the same path, but we all somehow came to the realization we need Christ to take over that 'path setting' in our lives. If you aren't there yet, just wait - your point of turning is coming!
The way we think about ourselves says a lot about how we think God sees us. There is much that goes into the way we think about ourselves, but I'd say the one thing that comes to mind is the tendency to either be way too judgmental about each and every aspect of our lives, or care so little about it that we just live it any old way, come what may. These ways of viewing ourselves is kind of messed up, though. When we get way too judgmental about everything we do, think, or even wear, we find ourselves living very negative and complex lives. If we are way to lackadaisical about how we are living and making choices, we may find our life just lacks purpose and direction. We are all over the board and this isn't good either. Believe it or not, we need both judgment and liberty in our lives.
We might see the need for judgment, while someone else sees the need for liberty - but one without the other leaves a life with an imbalance of 'authority'. You see, whether we are looking at life through the eyes of judgment or liberty, it is all a question of who is the 'authority' we are submitting our lives to in the first place. If we are the ultimate judge and jury in our lives, then we have said we are the 'authority' who we consider most important. To live without boundaries is also saying we are the one who has the 'authority' to live as we see fit. Either way, the wrong 'authority' is in control! Our lives are designed to have Christ at the center - in the spirit of a man - as the authority. Why? He is the 'author' of our life!
As the 'originator' of life, Christ as all the authority to that life, but let me assure you of this - authority is either heeded, or it is resisted. We may butt up against his rule in our lives a whole lot - letting our own prideful self get in the way more often than not. If you haven't figured it out already, that is not the best way to live! We may care less what he asks us to do, we will just go with the flow and see where it gets us. If you haven't figured that one out already, you don't usually find the journey at the end of that road was all that fulfilling or rewarding. Christ is meant to be the one true authority in our lives - anything less than him at the center will make for a pretty unfulfilled and 'pride-filled' life. Just sayin!
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