The past three weeks at my church, Crosspoint, Pete (the pastor) has been discussing the topic of marriage. When he began this series I thought to myself, "what could I possibly gain from this topic?" Lo and behold, God has taught me a lot. Specifically, this past week he preached about seeking God in a relationship. Obviously this wasn't what struck me, considering I am not currently in a relationship, but towards the end of the sermon he talked about how so many relationships settle with "mixing God in their life." What he meant by this is that so many Christians dab a little bit of God here and there, instead of living life for God. But what does this mean? I don't want to just attend church every week, do my daily devotions and get by. I want to live for the one who graciously gave me the precious gift of life.
Like I said before, God has taught me a lot through this relationship series. Two weeks ago, Pete talked about putting your spouse's or boyfriend/girlfriend's needs before yours. One of the key ways to have success in a relationship is to place your selfishness aside and realize that his or her needs are far greater than yours - that your love is intended to carry out acts of service. Jesus shows us this type of love by demonstrating the ultimate act of service - being crucified for the sins of everyone. I believe servanthood not only applies to dating relationships and marriage, but with people we encounter every day - whoever that may be.
Today I was talking on the phone with one of my best friends who just got back from a missions trip to Guatemala. She told me all that God taught her on the trip, along with the amazing experiences she had while serving others - it wasn't necessarily working side by side with the people of Guatemala, preaching the Word of God, but most of it was preparing land and construction type duties. You wouldn't normally think work like that is necessarily "serving." However, the work they were doing will ultimately help further God's Kingdom. I believe that God gives us multiple opportunities to serve, but we must take it upon ourselves to choose the attitude that goes along with it. By allowing the Holy Spirit to capture our minds, we can think and make decisions just like Christ. I believe this is the first step to comprehend (at least a little bit) what it means to live for God.
Hearing stories like the ones my friend shared with me today gets me so pumped to go out and be a vessel for my Savior. For lent, I gave up secular music, so I've been listening to the Christian XM radio station whenever I'm in the car. The other day a song came on with lyrics that said "I want my life to be an offering." (or something like that). But it really struck me - is my life an offering? Does everything about my life scream "she is madly in love with Jesus Christ"? I wanna say that is highly doubtful. I don't just want God to be a dab here and there. I don't want to "mix God in" whenever is convenient for me. I want go out and serve because my God is far more than worthy.
