God on the margins

Connie Schultz writes a column that appears in my local newspaper. She is a persuasive and provocative feminist. Today, she loosed her verbs on members of Congress who wish to restrict the use tax dollars to fund abortion. Schultz adopts the argument that respect for life is rooted in religion and therefore has no place in public policy. In so many words she says that God is irrelevant to the world in which we live, that belief is a hobby for fools and the self-deluded. We are a nation now governed by an elite that sides with the likes of Schultz. Most of our legislators, judges, and intellectuals continue to profess religious belief. They do so, however, as a sentimental custom, not as a life-shaping commitment. God, if He exists at all, is relegated to the margins of life. Of course, that kind of God is no god at all!

I cannot do much about Connie Schultz’s opinions, but I can examine my own life for the same kind of thinking.

Am I pushing God to the edges of my life, refusing His will or wisdom in favor of my own convenience?

Am I living on my own terms even though they contradict what the Scripture reveals to be the mind of God in the matter?

How can we claim to love and serve God if we try to wall off parts of our lives from Him? Jesus confronts us with this question: "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46, NIV) Perfectly aligning life with God’s will is the true disciple’s desire. Yes, I have inconsistencies in my life that anyone will find should they delve into my actions. I do not perfectly practice what I preach. I confess that with sorrow and with the hope that I am not a rebel, just ignorant! It is one thing to not know the will of God and thus to fail to do it. It is quite another to know what He commands and yet to ignore Him. The Bible reminds us that we sin as much by omission as we do by commission. "You are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil." (James 4:16-17, The Message)

Ms. Schultz probably does not realize that when she shakes her fist at moral absolutes, she is breaking the first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3, NIV) That does not simply prohibit worshipping a small clay idol, or adopting the gods of a foreign religion! It is a call to humility of Self, to submission of our minds and hearts to the One True God. The stark and simple fact is that unless one has settled the issue of the primacy of God in all things, life will be disordered and increasing chaos will result. “Lord, you have made us for yourself and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.” - St. Augustine

Disciple, I urge you to place yourself – every attitude, every assumption, every value – at the Throne of God. Invite the Holy Spirit to make known to you any part of you that is not yielded to His mastery. Pray that prayer which David prayed in humble confession; "What you’re after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life. … Going through the motions doesn’t please you, a flawless performance is nothing to you." (Psalm 51:6, 16, The Message)

___________
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me Jesus take me now.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me Savior wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord I give myself to Thee.
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessings fall on me.

I surrender all,
I surrender all.
All to Thee my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

I Surrender All
Van De Venter, Judson / Weeden, Winfield S.
© Public Domain