Third Person Singular

We are called by God to lead lives of radical holiness, to devote everything we have and everything we do to Him. This is not a matter of salvation. We are saved by grace through Jesus Christ and given new lives through the Holy Spirit. The question at hand is how we should live out those new lives. It is tempting to compile a strict list of do’s and don’ts and to adhere to them rigidly, “A divorced Christian cannot remarry,” or “Music should serve no other purpose than to praise God,” or “A Christian should do no work on the Sabbath.” These are worthwhile points to consider, but these are not the first things to consider. The new life must begin with putting God first and us second. The first things to consider are, worship, prayer, fellowship with His people, eliminating obvious or major sin from our lives, serving others and spreading the Word. Once these are part of our lives, we can address some of the more arcane questions.

We sometimes fearfully ask how much Jesus is asking us to give up to follow Him. The short answer is, “everything.” Sometimes He graciously acts to take away a lot of the things that we think make us happy. “Graciously” because if we are not fulfilled and satisfied by knowing Him and walking down the path He leads, nothing else will satisfy us -- no person, no relationship, no accolade, no early success, no material blessing. If we fall into the error of seeing God as a means to satisfy our wants, then our wants and desires are still the most important things to us, and God is second. And God must be first.

We renounce evil, we let go our desired, and we focus on God. Then it is easy to address the difficult questions about how we should live our lives.

In science fiction fandom, to GAFIATE is to "get away from it all to extremes." It means to turn away from the wonder and craziness of fandom, go back to your day job, and cultivate your mundane friendships.

I've kinda done that with my online presence. I'm taking off these 40 days to reflect on where I've been and where I'm going, what is important, and what is supremely important, where I am still broken and need to be fixed.