Sinners sin because that is their nature. Saints are not sinless, but as we grow, we sin less.
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1Jn 5:12 NIV
Once we are born again and begin to grow in Christ, the motives for why we do what we do begin to be transformed as well. Let me continue the example from my own life that I started sharing yesterday. When my Baby Girl first was diagnosed with cancer, my prayer was, “Lord, please don’t take her from me.” Now at first, this seems like a good prayer, but who is at the center of this prayer? Was it Beckie or me? Do you see what I meant yesterday about a sinner’s motive is always tinged? There is always a MMI factor to the way we think, speak and act. Once we become saints, we must grow to reflect God’s selfless Love or we remain in that immature state. I became a saint when Beckie fell into what would be her first comatose state, so my immaturity was evident in the way I was praying.
After several years of God working on my heart, my prayer changed. Now I was crying out to God, “Lord, please be with Beckie and heal her!” Do you see the lack of MMI in this? I was not asking God to heal her for my sake, but for hers. Now my focus went from me to her. This is evidence of growth. As we mature in Christ, life becomes less about MMI and more about others. But it should not stop there, My Friends.
Towards the end of Beckie’s trials, my prayers changed once again. Now my petition went something like this, “Lord, You know how much I love my child. You know my heart longs to have her here, healthy and by my side, but if You want to bring her Home, if this is Your Will for her, then Your Will be done.” So you see the surrender? It still makes me cry yet this is the goal, to trust God even when our own desires are not His Will. This is clear proof that we have the Son, and if we have the Son…well, let’s wrap it up tomorrow…
Join me in memorizing 52 verses this year:
January: 1- Jn 3:16; 2- 2Co 5:17; 3- Jas 2:26; 4- Eph 2:10
February: 5- Jn 10:10; 6- Ro 6:23; 7- Rev 21:4; 8- Php 4:13
March: 9- 1Pe 5:7; 10- Jn 8:32; 11- Dt 30:19; 12- Jn 3:30; 13- 2Chron 20:3
April: 14- 2Chron 20:12; 15- 2Chron 20:15b; 16- 2Chron 20:17
May: 17- Ro 8:28; 18- 1Co 13:13; 19- Php 2:12; 20- Mt 5:4
June: 21- Lk 23:42; 22- Jas 4:7; 23- Pr 22:6; 24- Mt 5:3; 25- Jn 14:6
July: 26- Jas 2:19; 27- Dt 31:8; 28- Jn 14:15; 29- Jn 8:11
August: 30- Ro 8:1; 31- Pr 4:23; 32- Pr 18:21; 33- Ps 118:24; 34- 1Jn 4:4
September: 35- Mt 16:24; 36- Isa 53:6; 37- Ps 23:1-6
October: 38- Heb 4:12; 39- Jn 15:5
40- Jas 5:16
41- 1Jn 3:1
42- 1Jn 5:12
<>< Peace, Diane
