What We Are in the Dark

“We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark- the imaginations of our minds, the thoughts of our heart, the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. Character is what you are in the dark.”
Oswald Chambers
My Utmost for His Highest

Chambers quote made me think of  our motivations. If you take groceries to a food shelter do you do it so others see how generous you are or is your motivation pure– to help someone in need.

It is natural for our sin nature to want others to know when we do something good. The carnal Christian (1 Cor 3:1-3)  is flesh-dominated. He walks in his sin nature. If he does good it is becasue he is trying to earn favor from God or man.

The spiritually mature Christian has the Mind of Christ because we have the Holy Spirit flowing through us. We are new creatures in Christ, our mental activity will  be like that of Christ. Acts of goodness and kindness come from pure love and compassion.

How Do you Grow from Carnal to Spiritually Mature?

How do you switch from milk to meat? I don’t  believe you can grow from carnal to spiritually mature? Only God can do the work. Just as we can’t earn salvation, we cannot earn the mind of Christ.

When we  grow in the knowledge of his love by His revealing it then we can rest in Jesus.  We are only vessels. We can try obey God commands, He is pleased when we try -but only IF we try with the right motivation. To many of us try to obey to earn His love or others approval.

We don’t walk in and out of God’s love. His love never changes. We can obstruct the Holy Spirit becasue of sin, but God still loves us. Nothing you can do that will make him love you any less. He just loves you.

From Yesterdays post “Caught in the DoDos” :

To understand Jesus’ invitation to the kingdom we must understand it relationally not religiously. He wasn’t inviting people to a rigid ethic or ceremonial rituals. He invited people to relationship.

Those that engage the relationship will live transformed lives, but often those who only conform their outward behavior miss out on the depth of relationship that Father wants to have with them.

Approach God on the basis of your own efforts and you will always be disappointed. Trust him for mercy we could never deserve and you’ll find his grace flow through you like a raging river.

It’s the strangest of things: Try to do enough to earn God’s favor and you will ensure that you will fall painfully short no matter how much you do. Accept his mercy, however, and you will end up enjoying his life and doing the very things that please him most.

Our focus should be to long for God’s kingdom and His righteousness, to look for it, to pray for it, , hunger and thirst for it !

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. Heb 4:12

The most important thing you can do is ASK. Ask Him to give you the mind of Christ. Believe He will. Read His Word- focus on His stories of love.

God is the one who will  do the growing. In Hebrew grow means to nourish, make great, powerful, to magnify, to be brought up.  We are the vessels. Allow Him to mold you- don’t try to mold yourself.

Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour… that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, (Romans 9:21a & 23).

Father,

Help me to see others through Your eyes. Reveal the depth of Your love to me. Mold me into the vessel You want me to be. Let your love flow through me. Give me the mind of Christ, and help me  pour out my life in obedient sacrifice, believe and trust in You.