Dear Dad,
I have learned the importance of staying true to myself.
This importance begins with the definition of truth….what is individual truth?
Popular opinion would say that individual truth belongs to and is defined by
the individual. Initially that sounds so great and extremely liberating to have
the power to be able to define my individual truth. After serious study and an intrinsic
desire to live my life in a way that is pleasing to You, I searched and found a
place that states “I am the way, the truth, and the life” John 14:6. I also found
this in Matthew 16 “If any of you want to be my
follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow
me”. From that I began to measure my “individual truth” to “Your truth”….two totally diffident truths that scaled on opposite ends of
the spectrum. In fact, such contrast meant that
one truth had to be right and the opposing truth....wrong.
As a believer, “Your truth” would be the
right one, while whatever “my individual truth” is would be wrong.
So now, in order to create balance “my individual truth” has
to mirror the image of “Your truth”. I
went on to search for the best way to create balance that would yield some sort
of happy medium. Well that search turned out to be never-ending because that
quest proved to be impossible. So now I
had to strap on some discipline and truly embrace this pursuit of balance. Looking
at Your word, that is also stated above, proves that in order to establish this balance
some work and sacrifice must be done on my
behalf. You said that in order to follow You one must turn from their selfish ways,
and pick up their cross to do so. The words “their cross” stuck out to me. What
is my cross? Measuring the wayward implication of “individual truth” to the
biblical implication of "individual cross” both terms are somewhat identical. Therefore
individual truth=individual cross; both entails that part of us that we self
define as “who we are” aka our selfish ways.
If not comparable to “Your truth” that “who we are” aspect of us could be
leading us to a spiritual death. This reality sounds so harsh, but no matter
what popular opinion tells us, You have made it clear over and over and over in
Your word that in order for us to have lasting life spiritually, we must "get rid of that which is bad and hold tight to
that which is good" Romans 12:9.
As a father You see
the various battles that we struggle with continuously. This struggle is a
result of the constant battle between the spiritual and carnal parts of us. Because You have
given us free will, we can choose which part of us we want to use most, ultimately
bringing You honor OR shame. My goal is
to honor You, help me to get rid of all parts of me that You hate. I do not
claim being born anyway other than in Your image. Some areas of struggle
are larger for some than others, and given an intentional heart to please You
and not myself, sets me up to be the winner!!!
Thank you for making me a winner.
Kristen
Word on the Go: Matthew 16:
24-28; John 14:6; Galatians 6: 7-9; Colossians 3;---see biblegateway.com
Matthew
16: 24-28 24 Then
Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your
selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If
you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life
for my sake, you will save it. 26 And
what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?[a] Is anything worth more than your soul? 27 For
the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will
judge all people according to their deeds. 28 And
I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see
the Son o fMan coming in his Kingdom.
John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is.[c] From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
Galatians
6: 7-9 Don’t be misled—you
cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those
who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death
from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest
everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So
let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap
a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore,
whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to
those in the family of faith.
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