"How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose… You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure… you who outshine all light… you who surpass all honor…O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation.”
St. Augustine, Confessions IX-1
Jesus is not your God until He is your treasure
(from sermon at Apostles)
“Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us,
like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
CS Lewis, Weight of Glory.
This is the only way we will ever risk great loss for Jesus. When we follow Christ, we will be called to risk for him. He ask things of us and leads us in ways that challenge our comfort level and mode of self-preservation. Whether that is speaking the gospel to another person and fearing the loss of face or rejection, or giving generously to meet a need, or answering his call to put roots down in the city, or give your life to making him known among an unreached people, He calls us to costly things. There will be an assessment you will have to make. Is Christ and his Kingdom of greater value than my own safety, preference and comfort?
(from sermon at Apostles)
These are parts of the sermon from our Advent series at Apostles church. Sunday we lit the candle of Joy, and at some point I thought, how is this about Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I know Christ is our source of joy, or should be, I know he came to give us true joy, but it didn't fully click for me right away. So many people associate joy with the things they get at Christmas. Some are happy because they got everything they asked for, some pout when their whole list wasn't fulfilled. Why isn't Jesus enough for us? Why is His joy not sufficient enough? Because we are human, because our desires for things of this world are sometimes stronger than our desire for Him. This Christmas I want Jesus to be my treasure! I want to consider Christ above all else, and experience the superior Joy He offers to me.
2 comments:
Beautiful post! I will pray that for the both of us- that Jesus will be our true Treasure. This was such a wonderful reminder- thanks!!!
These are some of my favorite quotes - and I love the mones from your church. SO convicting! Mostly because even though I understand it I am still so guilty of trying to find joy in the things of this world. Thanks for posting this and helping us cast our gaze upward. Merry Christmas!
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