Who Reigns?

I wish when I gave my life over to Christ that I could have "left the building".

I wish I no longer was there to try and slide myself into the place of leadership and bump him out of the way.

 I wish I could no longer could fall prey to temptations or give in to sin.

I wish that when others looked at my life, my actions, my decisions...they only saw Christ. His choices. His decisions. His reactions.

Then, when others who see me often, watched me over the years, they wouldn't question his existence in my life. I see it in their eyes. I hear it in their words and their questions.

And if it isn't my life their examining, then it is another. We speak of this Christ who entered our lives, our hearts, we gave our lives over to His reign....and yet our lives so often look just like their own.

We make bad decisions. We move away from commitments. We get angry. We lie and gossip. We hurt others. We become full of pride. We spend wasted hours on our own pleasures, looking away from others and their needs. We judge. We have bad habits.

We look so much like so many other humans.

Those times...we have tried to take over the throne. We decide to try and reign again. And when we do...we sin.

So, the difference? We will not stay stuck in sin. We can not keep sinning. We have the spirit of God residing in our hearts. If we are staying there, then we should be examining our lives and hearts. Not everyone who calls themselves Christians are. There are some who confess with their mouths, but not believe and commit with their hearts.

God is still there...He is still in control. We may think we have control...but no way. He allows us to make these choices, and he also allows the consequences. But, in his wisdom and love....He moves us out of the way, and reminds us..."I AM IN CONTROL". He grabs our hearts and convicts us, not allowing us to wallow in sin.

It is here where we grow, where we see God. We learn how powerless we are, how weak, and we cling to him. And for us, He is right there. Ready to clean up and use it to glorify Him.

Without him...you stay stuck there. You continue in sin, and you can't pull yourself from its grip. You may try...and you will attempt to control it. But, you will never do it alone. You have no where to turn, no promise to hang on to. There is only you. But I am here to tell you...He is right there. His hand is held out.  He is waiting for you. He just wants you to call out, recognize that is is just you...and that you need Him. He wants to sit on the throne, He wants to reign.

And he reigns with wisdom, love, and forgiveness. He reigns with mercy and grace.

So...please don't look at me...or at him. Look to the King. We still struggle with the same things you do. We will still disappoint. But watch, watch when we put Him where He belongs. Watch as we move from the throne. Look at what He has done in our lives. It is his power, glory and kingdom we wish for you to see. We still stand in awe of Him, not in ourselves.

"Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because God's life is in them. " 1 John 3:9

May you find salt and light in my words.