don't get comfortable

"There is a river that washes you clean
There is a tree that marks the places you've been
Blood that was spilled, although not your own
For all of these things, love will atone"

this is part of a song by Jars Of Clay, a song that i have come to love. it talks about the river being the blood of Christ, and how it washes us clean. the blood of Christ does this, not ours. and on top of this, there is nothing that could ever be done outside of the blood of Christ that can wash us clean before the Lord God.


and i love this last line, "For all these things, love will atone". everything we have ever done wrong, every screw up and mistake.....it is all covered by Christ's atoning blood through His death.

but here is the catch. see, today it seems that this is all we emphasize.....that by accepting Jesus, by saying this little prayer you are all set and guaranteed to go to heaven. i do not argue that if you do this you will go to heaven, so long as it is true in your heart....and God knows that answer just as good as you do. but what we fail to inform people today is that there is more to it that just saying yes. there must be action, after all being a Christian is really a lifestyle, one that mimics Jesus. accepting Christ is not a cure-all for life's problems, it is a commitment to follow Him faithfully, even through the crap of life. and fyi, no where in the Bible does it say a life with Christ will be problem free. Jesus Himself said that to follow Him will tear families apart.

so yes, the atoning death and blood of Christ washes us clean, wipes the slate for us before God, but in accepting Him and this sacrifice He made for us, we are saying that we will follow Him faithfully and whole heartedly. that is the catch. to be a total sell-out for Christ in all we do.

the cost is everything. the rewards are unimaginable. are you willing to step up to the plate?