More like You, I'm longing to become
Where I imitate Christ and am gradually set free
With Your Spirit, You have permeated this one,
And someday in Your presence I will be.
Imitators of Christ, little Christs, Christ likeness, I want this to be my goal and I long for the day when my striving will be done. You see, I am becoming more aware that I am to be an example to others, a model if you will of Christ. Not perfect (heavens!) but one who shows Christ through her strengths and weaknesses. I conduct Bible studies and am on the air each weekday with a radio program where I can use my gift of exhortation and encourage others along their way.
While pondering and working on this week's memory verse,
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1 (NASB)
My thoughts became filled with a deeper understanding and longing to be more like Christ. The first part of 2 Corinthians 7:1 tells us that we have promises from God. I looked back to chapter 6:14-18 to see just what these promises were all about,
"we are the temple of the living God...I will dwell in them and walk among them (that is with us, me)...I will be their God and they shall be my people...I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to Me..."
Wow, these are incredible promises and should cause some kind of a response from us as children of the Most High God! But there is also this clear distinction between walking with Father God and walking contrary to His ways,
"Do not be bound together with unbelievers, as this sets us up to partner with lawlessness, darkness, idols and the unclean..."
Okay wait a minute here, are we to set up camp in Christendom and have nothing to do with the world? How can we introduce others to their heavenly Father if we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. I have known situations with believers who actually see the verse as meaning we avoid the unbeliever, period. And the verse does say that we are to come out from among 'them' (unsaved gentiles) and separate ourselves from them. So how in the world does this work?
I hope what I have found is that the key word here is the word bound. Bound means to be fastened or tied to something and as I wonder about that in the context of Paul's words I see that our wise Father instruct us (for our own good) not to be fastened and tied to the things of the world. In the Amplified Bible it uses the word yoked [do not make mismated alliances with them or come under a different yoke with them, inconsistent with your faith.] A believer should not marry an unbeliever, nor should a believer draw up a business partnership with an unbeliever. Believers are not supposed to think like unbelievers and therefore, we can't run a tight ship with conflicting beliefs. I know you can run through the scripts this portrays.
Well, sometimes we do as Paul says, "..the very thing I do not wish to do...". When we are young in our faith and still depending on the milk of the word instead of the meat, we tread where we shouldn't and then pay the price. Hey, sometimes we learn the hard way and sometimes we dwindle in our faith and end up forsaking our calling even to our faith.
I remember well as a young, new Christian (divorced mother of three) how convinced I was that the man I was living with (a good man) was the man I would spend the rest of my life together with. Although he knew what the Christian life was all about (walking away in his early twenties) he was not living like one then and basically would have called himself a 'backslider' when we began our relationship together. As a brand new Christian, I was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was right and good and we ended up getting married. My choice superceded God's best for me and my children to the point that we really had some very trying years ahead of us...But God! The long and short of it is that we have now been married for 25+ years and God has definately restored the years the locust destroyed but I learned a tremendous lesson first hand about being with one of a different alliance than myself. And the lesson was literally driven home. I tell you, our Abba Father knows what He is doing when He tells us not to be bound to those things that are not of Him. The good news is when we come to that hard place in the road as a result of our poor choices, we can cry out and turn back to the One who will lead us home. God will reward your faithfulness to do the right thing and make the right choice by waiting on Him. Then you will reap the benefits referred to in that memory verse, those promises Paul says we have because we are God's children.
Father God, so many of us have to learn the hard way from our wrong choices. We have received many bumps, and scrapes along the way that result in scars (like my being divorced) that can sometimes be unsightly. For that one today who is getting ready to make a life changing decision, I pray that she would stop, be still and listen to Your Holy Spirit. Father, it is not only just hearing Your voice in our spirits, it is then making the choice to respond in obedience to Your instruction. I pray that their desires would not have the upper hand in their decision making today. Give them the grace to pull back if necessary until You can direct them in the pathway that will be that best choice for all involved. I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-7 ,
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil."
Thank You Lord for loving me enough to be my guide as I become more like you.
May you know His blessings!
