For a while, when we lived in Florida, we had a mixed Labrador Retriever named Pip. He was all muscle and energy. We had a large fenced-in backyard that was his domain, but a couple of times, we took him to a park where he could just run as fast and as far as he wanted, and he wanted.
He would run so fast at the park that he was just a blur most of the time. He ran with wild abandon in what he must have felt was limitless freedom. That’s how we should live in Christ Jesus. If a pet dog can glory with reckless abandon in the new freedom of a park, how should we act with our true freedom purchased by Jesus and freely available to us? (John 8:36)
Be Reckless Immediately
Oswald Chambers, the author of “My Utmost for His Highest,” wrote:
Never start to say, “Well, I wonder if He [God] really did speak to me?” Be reckless immediately— totally unrestrained and willing to risk everything— by casting your all upon Him…be determined to recklessly abandon yourself, surrendering everything to Him. It is only through abandonment of yourself and your circumstances that you will recognize Him. – Oswald Chambers
Do you think this is “over-the-top?” Consider what the Apostle Paul wrote in :
for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.
Romans 9:3
Paul Shocks Again!
Paul’s statement is shocking! We see that His heart was fully set upon Jesus and His purpose. From this, we can see that Paul’s life was a life of abandonment of himself. Abandonment doesn’t mean we should wander the streets unwashed and in tattered clothes while mumbling to ourselves. We should learn from Romans 9:3 that our purpose should only be Christ’s purpose. There’s no room for Jesus and me to both sit on the throne of my heart.
Image by Andreas F. from Pixabay
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