A better man

Now my debt is paid. It is paid in full.
By the precious blood that my Jesus spilled.
Now the curse of sin has no hold on me.
Whom the Son sets free, oh, is free indeed!
–Man of Sorrows, Hillsong Worship

Many times in my life, and I’m sure in yours too, I’ve lusted after the cares and concerns of this world. I would by lying if I said that I haven’t longed for an easier, simpler, stress-free life within the past week. Time after time after time, I’ve prayed for me to wake up tomorrow and have all my worries dealt with. But time after time after time, I wake up and my worries are still present, and sometimes even mounting.

What I do every time that I strive after the things of this world, every time I pray for my heart’s desires, I fail to acknowledge the life to which I have been called to. As a Christian, I know that my purpose is to worship God, Father, Son, and Spirit, with all my being.
In Romans 6, Paul calls us “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:15-23), being set free from our sin to serve the one who saved us.
In Titus 2:11-14, it is declared that Christ redeems us to purity for the purpose of being zealous to do good works! (Not that these works save, but they are a response to our freedom.)

I could go on and list many other books and chapters and verses but do I really need to? (I’m going to anyway. See Ephesians 2:1-10, 1 John 2:15-17, and Colossians 3:1-17 for just a few.) The message is the same: we are sinners who have been called to a better purpose than what we once knew.
When we lust and long for the things of this world, that is Satan at work trying to pull us away from the magnificence of the Cross. Brothers and sisters, we are here on this earth to worship and bring glory to God with all of our lives! So let us strive after treasure set in heaven, that is eternal life with Christ.
Fight the good fight! Run the race! Keep the faith!

I don’t want to be the strongest man. I just want to be a better man. A man after Christ. My debt was paid in full so my life is owned by Christ. I am not my own. I am a slave to His righteousness. Let our prayers not be about our own heart’s desires but be prayers that ask, that beg, for God’s will be done.
And if that means our worries and stresses mount all the more, let us glorify God none the less. He knows better than anyone what we need.
So pray to Him that His will be done in all things.

All glory be to Christ our King. All glory be to Christ.
His rule and reign, we’ll ever sing.
All glory be to Christ.

Amen.