Allen:
What do I believe? Every word you’ve quoted from the Bible. And every word I’ve written.
A search of our hearts is the last thing any man wants to engage in – we prefer the comfort of the ignorance of our sin. If we draw closer to God, our trust in Him grows and our desire to please Him as well. Hopefully, we become obedient to the first commandment to “love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart.” (emphasis mine)
Too many of us have a lukewarm interest in God at best. But if there is something – or someone – we love, aren’t we eager to spend every minute with them? This doesn’t mean we can’t go on with our daily lives. But the depth of our desire to know Truth, and to submit to His teaching, is critical.
And God knows when our hearts are ready to receive Him, and makes way for us to journey with Him.
We should not fear submitting to God in this way. I can personally attest to this: at the very moment God reveals that sin to the believer, He takes it away, replacing it with His Holy Spirit. There is no greater joy. The heart is changed. He sees his fellow man with new eyes. And it is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart – not any good thing in us – that allows us to love as God has loved us.
I can also personally attest that the “saved” is not now perfect. He must daily surrender to the working of the Holy Spirit, otherwise he falls into the “old” ways. But God is faithful to the surrendered heart: He returns us to joy if we’ve fallen into the hell our thoughts and actions might take us. We need only return to Him with a grieved heart.
I believe these things, Allen, because I’ve been blessed to experience them. And one more thing if I may – my singular devotion to God, and Christ, began when my life had become grievously wretched.
I am now thankful for that wretchedness, and know how true are these words also: “Blessed are you who weep and mourn” – for if my life had been swimmingly wonderful, I might not have turned to Him and received the greatest blessing of all.
