Last week, I posed the question of what would be the most righteous sacrifice one could offer to God, and suggested that the Bible shows it is to be at rest in Christ. You can find the full post here.
I left you with the question—Now that we are at rest, actively making the sacrifice of righteousness by our inactivity, are we just going to lay around OR is our inactivity in regard to being justified the very disposition that makes way for the most energetic and effective sanctified life?
Trying to justify ourselves is like a non-swimmer trying to keep his head above water—frantic, all-consuming consciousness of peril, which always ends with drowning. How can you love others in a life consumed by self-preservation?
God has made our lives safe by the redeeming work of Jesus. Being at rest in honesty about dependence on Jesus is like floating. Resting on Jesus puts us in direct contact with Him so that His power, nature, and will to love is working in us and thus through us. Good branches connected to the Vine cannot bear nothing, nor can they bear bad fruit. Good trees bear good fruit by God’s regenerating work and by His energy at work through us.
But does our freedom from self-preservation make us free for self-promotion? Stay tuned for more thoughts on this next week.