The Plumbline

Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) Who are you living for? It is a valid question, is it not? We wake up each new day, actively choosing to live for someone or something. The one given over to substance abuse might not realize it, but they are living for a 'thing', not for someone. The one so concerned about what others think isn't living for themselves as much as they are those others who consume their thoughts, actions, and heart. If we choose to live for Christ, we are making a different choice - to lay down our lives, allowing his life to flow through us. We receive a new life in Christ Jesus. We choose to live differently when we say 'yes' to Jesus. Someone may not realize the life cha...

I guess none of us wants to hear we need to 'wean ourselves' off the old ways of thinking and acting, do we? In fact, whenever someone points out something in my character that needs a little adjustment, I almost want to cringe because I thought I was doing 'okay'. We actually 'suffer' a little pain with that reminder everything is not 'okay' in our lives. Whether it is physical, mental, or emotional in nature, human nature just lends itself to suffering. We cannot escape the fact - some suffering is brought on by our own doing! Other times, it is completely out of our control. The hardest thing to deal with is the type of suffering brought on by our own doing. We often associate a sense of guilt and shame to our own failures, compounding the suffering any wrong choice, thought, or emotional attachment we may be going through. Weaning ourselves from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get our own way is indeed necessary, but it isn't eas...