I was watching one of my grandaughters, Vera, the other day. All kids grow up so fast and you really have to be near them to catch every little thing they learn to do. I was trying to see just what new things Vera could do since the last time I had seen her. I quickly noticed that she was hearing things and looking quickly in the direction from where the noise came from. When last I saw her she would kind of move a little when that happened, but not much. Now she was really moving her head at almost every new sound. The thing I really liked was when she heard me talk and looked at me and smiled. Oh the joy!! That was a little piece of heaven for "Popsie!" Her senses were really starting to kick in and the change was noticeable and it made me think," I need to watch what I say in front of her." That realization really got me thinking about my relationship with Christ and how I use my senses for Him.
Just think about it. When we accept Christ, He takes our senses and heightens them way beyond what they were before our new life in Him. He takes our joy and really makes it come alive. He takes our love and causes it to come from deep within our heart. He takes our understanding of life, and coupled with His Word, teaches us the secrets of what life is really all about. In other words, things that before Christ wouldn't have even gotten a response from us, now cause us to notice them and we want to help. Just like Vera is growing up and her senses are all starting to kick in, so are our senses as we grow in Christ. That sensitivity will begin to redefine our direction, focus, and who we are in our life and in Christ. In writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul brought to mind what God would do over a period of time with their senses and how it was all going to fit together. Great words.....
Ephesians 1:8 He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, 9 letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, 10 a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. 11It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, 12 part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. 13 It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free - signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. 14 This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
Vera's first installment that I noticed was how she started noticing, really noticing things around her. Our first installment is when we start noticing more than just our wants, our desires, our needs. We start seeing the world like Christ sees the world, and everything starts to make sense and fit together. Here's a given for each of us. When we accept Christ, the Holy Spirit begins a work that is not world based, but Spirit based. Tap in on that type of living and you will see the world in a whole new way and, by the way, people will really start to notice the changes in your life as well.
The Pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren
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