Turn, Turn, Turn

When I get to heaven I’m going to have a debate with the Apostle Paul over which of us is truly the chief sinner (1 Timothy 1:15). In case you don’t know Paul, he was a devout Jew, a Roman citizen, a Pharisee, and dedicated keeper of the law. So much so that he persecuted Christians, the early church, throwing them into prison or even having them stoned to death. He did all of this in good conscience, until the day Jesus appeared to him and then he changed. He turned away from his old way of living and became one of Christ’s biggest evangelists (read Acts 22 and 26).

Me, I have been attending church since I was three days old, baptized at the age of 13, taught Bible classes, served as a Bible camp counselor, and a host of other good works. However, I did much of this for many years without a changed heart or perhaps as a hypocrite. I was living one way on display for all to see, even telling others how they should be living, and yet I was secretly (or as far as I thought) entangled in sinful behaviors. I wore a mask for years, a façade, deeply involved in Christ-like activities in the public eye, yet living against much of what I claimed to believe. Unlike Paul, I did not do these activities in good conscience; I was full of guilt and shame. So, Paul, I win. I am the chief of all the sinners.

During a life/relationship crisis a good friend recommended I attend a CelebrateRecovery meeting. Through a Step Study, I learned that I truly needed to turn both my life and my will over to my higher power, Jesus Christ.

Step 3: “We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 NIV

Principle3: “Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.”

Happy are the meek. Matthew 5:5a TEV

I am currently co-leading my third Step Study. During a recent meeting, one of our sisters shared a quote by Francine Rivers that fit perfectly with our Lesson 5 – Turn:

“As a child, I’d asked Jesus to be my Savior.  What I didn’t understand is I needed to surrender my life to Him and allow Him to be LORD of my life as well. “

I have learned through conversation with many that this may actually be an issue with several Christians. And may also be the reason those who claim to be of Christ have a less than stellar reputation among the unchurched. You see there is a vast difference in having a Savior and having a Lord of your life. Most of us want a Savior, a hero, to be rescued or saved, but how many of us want a Lord over our lives?

We love control! We love being in charge of our own lives, even when we choose things that aren’t so good for us or don’t turn out very well. How could we possibly turn this control over to someone else; even our perfect Savior?

This isn’t a new issue.  We read about it many times in God’s Word. There is the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23:

“And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”

He walked away very sad, as he decided to follow his own will instead of God’s will.

Then there is another piece of scripture we seem to want to separate. You know the one about pure religion found in James 1:27:

“Pure and undefiled religion before our ^[a God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

Most Christians are pretty cool with helping widows and orphans, but we don’t really want to get into the part about keeping oneself unstained by the world.

As our Step Study moves on through the material we will get to Principle 5:

Principle 5: “Voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.”

“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

Filled. Satisfied. Complete. Whole. Knowing that He will fulfill our every need and desire, keeps me turning in His direction every day. And as my buddy Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "you should follow my example, just as I follow Christ’s."