Finger on the Pulse

Thank God! He helped me find an answer to one of my most urgent questions this morning. My question was: "What makes the difference between Christians like Alan and Andrew, my own shepherd, people like Hanhui, who live powerful and impactful lives as role models... and what hinder other Christians, like me, from living lives as impactful and influential lives for Him?"

I mean, I'm trying to put my finger on the pulse here.

Is the employee working in an isolated back office of a large corporation any less loved by God than a big and successful entrepreneur with many awards to his name?

Is the Christian who appears in the newspaper having done some admirable things any more loved than the Christian who works faithfully for years in some remote community unrecognized, known only by the people he/she works with?

It can't be so. The Bible doesn't seem to say that. Jesus promised a life full and abundant to everyone who believes in Him.

What is the secret to a life full and abundant, really? If the Lord said that He has come that we "may have life, and have it to the full", then why is it that so many of us Christians still feel so small and unfruitful for Him?

In short, how do we go about living the full and abundant life in Christ?

Then, as I was doing my work just now, I saw my copy of "Every Day with Jesus" (got it for free from Festival of Praise this year), and somehow decided to flip it open.

And these words spoke clearly to my heart, which I think is God's way of answering my question regarding His Word:

Something more than physical nourishment is needed if we are to - really live. We require also the spiritual sustenance that is to be found in the words that come from the mouth of God. 'Our souls... are word-shaped.'.. [O]ur relationships to others (and also to ourselves) are shaped by some 'word' or other, some idea or philosophy of what it means to be a person. From the moment we begin our education a variety of 'words' are pumped into us about who we are and how to find our identity in this world, and whatever 'word' we accept, that becomes the moulding influence which determines how we view ourselves and others.

So often it is the 'word' of men, not the Word of God, that is taken to heart by us, and that then becomes the power that shapes our thinking about life and other things. The shape our souls take is determined largely by what 'word' we accept and assimilate. If God's Word does not have pride of place in our souls, then quite simply, our souls will not develop or function in the way they were designed.

Think God helped me see that the biggest difference between these two groups of Christians is that the former have decided to take to heart the Word of God. Whereas the latter take to heart their own understanding, and to a certain extent, others' understanding.

While the understanding of others, especially older and more mature Christians, is one way of God's speaking truth to us, sometimes I think we may not be able to understand fully the truths that they're saying. So we need to learn to see everything from God's perspective. Oh! Actually the leaders have been trying so hard to help us learn from God's perspective... but slow-witted me, I keep on forgetting that basic elementary truth.

And so, I think I get it today. To begin knowing our live's destinies, visions and purpose, we need to begin here. Here, with God's Word in our hearts, His rhematic revelation gradually unfolding in our lives day by day.

2 Corinthians 3:18
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."