Pouring It Out

2Samuel 23:16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem and carried it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out before the LORD.

We are capable of lusting. Duh. But, most of us generally assume that the object of our lust is something wicked or steamy at the least. Not necessarily. We also have the tendency to lust after the blessings of God. Now that’s a mouthful, but here’s the deal: When we attempt to hoard the blessings of God rather than God Himself, we begin the process of rotting from the inside. It’s what the children of Israel discovered with the manna that 24 hours later became maggots. Yummy! I think the milepost of a maturing Christian is when he or she attains the awareness of the sufficiency of The Savior. And, based on that sufficiency is willing to “pour out” even the greatest blessings back to The Lord, or at a minimum, to His Body, The Church. David exhibited incredible “chutzpah” in pouring out the very thing that he desired, AND that his men had risked their lives to attain. Listen, the point is NOT that David wasted the water. The point is that David’s heart, his character and motive, was rightly aimed at redirecting all glory and honor to God. He was “after” or perhaps better, he was “aimed at” or “directed at” God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). What really is my focus? Yours?

Holy Sacrifice

John 7:38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

So how much is Jesus really worth? Really? Out of us is supposed to flow streams of living water. So, one of the greatest evidences of maturity along the journey of faith is that which emanates from us. Is the “stuff” of my life a sustaining stream of life? According to how God the Father sent His Son, He was most interested in the preparation of the Son to be poured out…for someone else. In this God is glorified. I wouldn’t do it that way, but that’s why my email signature doesn’t say “God” after the title bit. God’s plan is that we be sanctified, or set apart (1 Thess. 4:3). Why? So that we can continue to pour out holy sacrifice TO Him so that someone else might be blessed by an imager of Christ in this world today. When we look at our circumstances through this lens, it changes things, and properly resets our expectations. So we refuse to look, and instead insist on using the convenient lens of the culture and world around us. Always disappointing. Just as Mary poured out everything she had and was to wash the Savior’s feet, so too can we. There are tears, but there is joy in the sacrifice. God knows!

Be Holy

1Peter 1:16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Could there be a more unreachable concept in contemporary spirituality? The world has gone gray, no more absolutes. But holiness is absolute. It is to be cut off, separate, not common. The entire page-turner known as Leviticus is a treatment of the difference between a holy God and common man. Leviticus is the instructions of practicing holiness. So is Jesus. This is why the designation Paul repeatedly offers of “in Christ” is so massively important in the Christian’s life. Nobody in the camp full of Hebrews could fulfill the instructions of Leviticus. So nobody could be holy. A-ha! But NOW, Christ has come! He has bridged the gap between God’s holiness and my commonality, and He has made ME holy. So why do I keep running back across the bridge to be common? Because I really don’t believe that He has made me holy. But He has. So Peter…Peter, of all people…! Peter tells us to be holy because God is holy. And He has made me holy. It’s not so much “do it” as “be it” because I am “in Christ.” This is why God really doesn’t care at all about my happiness, but cares intensely for my holiness. Life is learning to want what God wants…