(unmarked journal entry – presumably matthew 19)

time and again, Jesus has to address our pride; in our marriage relationships, in how we view the importance of others and in our sacrifices. we cannot be quick to write people off. that destroys families, both at home and in the church. there is no one that is less or more important than we see ourselves.

everyone has a place in God’s Kingdom.

everyone has worth and a task to accomplish, and if we do anything to prevent them from accomplishing their God given, God honoring tasks, then shame on us. we must trust that God can do more than we can and that He does know exactly what He is doing, even if we don’t understand it at the time.

thankfully, our salvation isn’t dependent on how often we get that right, but through grace by faith. we must trust God to do the work that He said He would accomplish in us, with us and through us. that leads to our salvation and serves as an example of the sake of His Kingdom and the salvation of others.

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we must come to a point where we understand that it isn’t about us. it never has been. everything, absolutely everything is about God. and there is no pride in His heart about this, we cannot place the faults of our own hearts on His. He is perfect and not prone to weakness and failings. He cannot suffer from a dangerously high self esteem.

He is God.

in our arrogance, we assume that we are more important than we really are. in our arrogance, we assume that our personal feelings and opinions actually carry weight, or that they may be based in something close to truth. man is sinful. we must get over ourselves, die to ourselves and trust that the new life that God offers to us freely through the blood of His Son, Jesus, is so much better than whatever garbage we can scrape together on our own.

it’s not about you. it’s not about me. we cannot play the victim, we cannot be so ignorant as to assume that the world really does revolve around us, and that it is everyone else’s job to make sure that our personal whims and desires are met and fulfilled. trust God and get out of the way. learn to walk, but step behind Him as you do so. learn to follow, and put your selfish desires in the trash heap. do as He does, live as He instructs us, and trust that the end that we are working toward daily is beyond any expectation you have ever dreamed of, and that the impact of your life will be so much greater than if you just tried to do things on your own. this isn’t pat cliche, i am not just throwing out religious muckity muck here and hoping a fleck sticks somewhere. life is what it is, but it isn’t about you or me. so, drop the western ideas of self-importance and victimization, and cling to the one hope that matters:

that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God

that is all that matters. we must decide how we respond to that truth.

life is choice.

choices have consequences.

choose wisely.