Chapter 21
"But let us not be discouraged. The abiding of the branch in the vine is a life of never ceasing growth. The abiding, as the Master meant it, is within our reach, for He lives to give it to us."
The past several chapters have been heavily focused on dying to self, selflessness, absolute surrender, etc. And while I appreciate his lessons and agree with him biblically, the tone has been pretty intense. Murray does not beat around the bush, and so he has clearly laid out our path to walking in faith and abiding in the vine - complete life transformation and nothing less.
The reason I picked the quote above is because it reminds us what Christ lives for. If we are to totally sell out and die to our flesh and so on and so on, then, for me, that only makes sense as I remember that Christ has done that for me. Further, His sacrifice and what He gives in exchange for my sacrifice is incomparable, and so it inspires me and puts my choices into a more clear and healthy perspective. He LIVES to give it to us - that is really good news!
"Obedience and faith must go together. Not as if to the faith he has the obedience must be added, but faith must be made manifest in obedience."
ReplyDeleteI thought this was encouraging for the upcoming week. I really like the way the Lord asks us to do things for Him and with Him because it seems like it does more for the growing of my faith/our relationship than for His benefit....