Extremes

Nearly all of us have had thoughts along these lines:  “If I go overboard in this area as a sacrifice, I will more than make up for it in this other desired area.” For example, “if I eat only rice cakes for a week, I’ll lose ten pounds forever and never gain them again.” “If I pull this all-nighter, I’ll keep my 4.0.” “If I max out my credit cards this month, I’ll get what I want and be able to pay it off in a couple of months.” The possible ‘deals’ we make with ourselves are as endless as our imaginations or our situations.

How’s that working for you?

What's Missing?

Tonight on the way home, I put in a CD of ‘the greatest sermon ever preached on American soil,’ Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” He really says it like it is. When I finish it, I will likely listen to it again. I just finished “Pilgrim’s Progress” by Bunyan, and it was a strange mixture of profundity and triteness, yet, it also, like Edwards, calls us to a higher level of commitment.

Why are you a follower of Christ? What have you sacrificed as rubbish before the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord? What are you really willing to sacrifice? For myself, I’ve sacrificed precious little, and would like to think I’d sacrifice it all, but find myself trying to find ways to have my cake and eat it too.