Why I ask all that will listen to, “Passionately Pursue a Relationship with Jesus”
The Jesus part.
Because we need Jesus!!! We as people are selfish, cruel, and evil without the influence of Jesus on our lives. We need Jesus for Salvation, Sanctification, and Sustenance.
Salvation – Psalm 40:1-2″ I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” Before Jesus called to us and redeemed us, we were stuck in a stinky ugly pit and covered with the mud of our own filth and sin. It is an important image that we need to keep being reminded of, lest we start to think of ourselves as something on our own. This is our starting point and we must always remember where we come from. Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Fundamentally, and at our core, we are evil and need of someone to save us from ourselves. This cannot be overstated and is something I often lose site of, because it is our nature to want to think of ourselves as better than we really are. But because of our sin nature, we are dirty and filthy and selfish and in need of the salvation that Jesus provided for us at such a great cost.
Sanctification – Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” The same Gospel (good news) that saves us, will sanctify us, that is, making us into the image of Christ. Because we are still trapped in our sinful selves, this will not ultimately be finished until we are with Jesus, but when He called us, He started the process of sanctifying us. He promised and He will do it. Now this is sometimes a pleasant process, but I have found that it is more often a painful one of having more of me chipped away, to reveal more of Him. While I am not sure why, it has been my experience that we never have more of ourselves stripped away on the mountain top, but rather it often happens in the valley. Sadly, some of these valleys are deep and dark. But hope in this, I can assure you, it is ALWAYS worthwhile. Pain is for a while, but sin we hang onto can hurt yourself and others for a lifetime (1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials).
Sustenance – John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'” While the focus of this verse speaks to salvation, it is the redemptive work of Christ that also sustains us day to day. We need Jesus to provide us our daily needs of Grace, Love, and Mercy that only He can provide. While Colossians one says He keeps the universe in motion, he also provides me the strength each day to live, not only for Him, but AS Him, when my poor, pitiful, and embarrassing efforts are not enough (2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me”). I stand here to testify that His Grace, indeed, is sufficient.
Jesus Saves us, Sanctifies us, and Sustains us, because He loves us with a love that is uncomprehendable, in order to bring Glory to Him because He is worthy above all else.
Letters from a Fathers Heart 