THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
It is easy to go to church on Sunday and sing songs and pray prayers. It is easy to not steal, not kill, not commit adultery. But simply obeying these laws does not bring life to us or to those around us. It is when we allow God to capture our hearts with the truth of the Gospel, when we allow God to continually and disturbingly challenge and grow our hearts that we find abundant life. When we live from the inside out, opening our hearts to Christ’s love, and letting it guide our speech and actions, we become those who make a healing, restoring impact on the world around us. Then we find – and bring to others – fullness of life.
This living from the heart takes far more work and awareness than legalism. It requires us to allow God to constantly challenge our attitudes and convictions, to constantly transform our feelings and reactions, and to constantly call us to a higher standard. In this way of living, we cannot rest in a future guarantee of heaven after we die. We are called to work to actively bring heaven into our world and our lives now through submitting to God’s gracious transforming guidance. But one thing is sure. If we are courageous enough to embark on the journey of heart-driven living, we will discover a richness and a fullness to life, a deeper connectedness and a more gracious way of relating and living together.
This week we explore what it means to live from the inside out.
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