Monday, March 5, 2012

Everything in Moderation...



How long have I believed this? I have believed it as if it were? I need to know …

Last night Mike and I were sitting on the couch working out our technology cravings and talking away, I was sharing every important thought : )  me rambling about moderation and he about alarms, both in different worlds… but together. I was able to get him on my wave as I lured him in with…"Is “Everything in moderation” in the bible?” He sweetly replied “I don’t think so, it’s one of those sayings we live by, as if from scripture but it’s not there…” Hmmm, what was I thinking? This was a “truth” I adopted without realizing it. “Everything in moderation”, well if that were true then the things that are not from Him in moderation would be ok? Galations 5:9 states “A little leaven leavens the whole lump”(ESV).  In 1st Corinthians 5:6 we are also told…

6-8Your flip and callous arrogance in these things bothers me. You pass it off as a small thing, but it's anything but that. Yeast, too, is a "small thing," but it works its way through a whole batch of bread dough pretty fast. So get rid of this "yeast." Our true identity is flat and plain, not puffed up with the wrong kind of ingredient. (The Message)

So, if I got this right, a little bit of a bad thing is not a good thing. Do I want eyes to see?

This doesn’t just apply to the blatantly obvious like it’s bad to murder in moderation. It also applies to the things that are not in and of themselves wrong too but the Lord is requiring us to lay them down and let go completely. He is lovingly saying to us, “even a little bit of that is not good for you”. I am not saying that the principle of moderation as a whole is bad but where have I allowed and justified something in moderation that the Lord has asked me to sever?

This principle so reflects the character of God, a God who is ALL IN. He does everything big, He is a big God. No complacency with Him, no mediocrity or middle road, no luke warm. He is a fully immersed God. Let me give one example, His death on the cross. He laid down His life for mine! I have never known a more devoted lover than my savior Jesus Christ. He spoke truth no matter the consequences and He loved so purely that He chose the difficult, painful, wretched road….for me….for you.

Does He ask the hard thing from this tight fisted girl because the more restriction the better the follower?? Absolutely not! What He requires is obedience, obedience that leads to freedom, freedom that leads away from bondage, bondage breaking that leads me to His arms. The more I let go the more my life gets filled with the greatness of Him.

Why lay it down for what He has? Oh, I am so foolish…freedom, beauty, purpose, joy, stillness, wonder. He is all there is, He is where it’s at, He is the great wonderful that fills every void. He is our ALL IN Savior, jumping in, head beneath the water.

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