There was little life change. Joy was lacking. Passion was empty. It was as if I saw people who had common beliefs and enjoyed spending time together, but it seemed the Gospel did little to really change their lives in the day-to-day. If Jesus’s claims are real there has to be–must be–gospel change.
At that point in my life (between 18 and 19), I was coming to the point where I realized I was living my life more as a moral person than a Christ follower. Yes, I’ll admit it I was the goody-goody. I didn’t drink, smoke, or go around kissing boys. But as I looked at my life I knew being moral and just believing God is and did what he said wasn’t enough–even the demons believe that!
I had a decision to make: Was I just going to be a moral person or was I going to delve into this Jesus I had committed my life to?
There had to be more to being a Christian than what I saw. If Jesus is and was who he said he was there’s got to be something more. There was a lack of “This is the Gospel and it has radically changed my life. It’s not only saved me from hell, but it saves me every day.”
Why are many Christians “ineffective and unproductive”? [...] they are nearsighted and blind, having forgotten that they have been cleansed from their past sins (2 Peter 1:9). They are blind to the power and hope of the gospel for today. [...]
People need to see that the gospel belongs in their workplace, their kitchen, their school, their bedroom, their backyard, and their van. They need to see the way the gospel makes a connection between what they are doing and what God is doing. They need to understand that their life stories are being lived out within God’s larger story so that they can learn to live each day with a gospel mentality.
Paul Tripp, How People Change (3-4)
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I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last 3 or 4 years I truly grasped the fact that what we believe about God has an impact in how we truly live our lives, or at least it should.
I think that the thing that really brought this to realization was experiencing infertility. Going through that trial made me question if God was still sovereign and all-powerful even if I was never able to get pregnant.
I want my life to scream YES!!!! Yes God is still great and God is still sovereign and God is still all-powerful, even if He never opens my womb.
-Ashley
Beautifully stated. Your post really made me think… I will exam my life to see if I’m just living morally or really living for Christ. Thanks for encouraging me in that way! Love, Michelle
You said it, sister!
I used to be more of a morals girl, but in the past few years I have looked much harder at my life and I try to live for Jesus now, in everything I do.