Standards....

Standards...


A word that at it's mere thought, most of us will cringe. I heard the perfect explanation to this at church one day, "Where there are standards or expectations, there is guilt." How true is that? A way of living that we can not live up to, a life we strive for yet fail too often. I have been thinking about this word a lot lately. As Jesus has completely changed my way of thinking, I have realized that I, now, have to live with these standards. But the good news in this, is that the hard part was already accomplished through the grace and mercy of Jesus, His death on the cross. Now all I have to do, is to live in a way to reflect that goodness and mercy in every aspect of my life. 


In Ephesians 4:20-24 this is reiterated, " You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. you were taught with regard to your former life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desired, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."


Well, we think... of course we have to do that... Easier said then done! I have always had difficulty drawing a line as to my "old" life and my "new" life. I know I am supposed to live with Jesus' light shining through me, but I found myself asking the question... How far can I get to the end without actually sinning, without actually doing something bad? After time, my boundaries were pushed so far, it was more than blurry the lines I so desired not to cross. It was until I truly experienced Jesus' love for me that I never realized what it meant to completely surrender to Him. I no longer want to live for the things of this world... the things that I have clung to for so long, yet left me so empty and wanting more and more. These things I defined myself with just left me of the other side with no self worth, no care for my life, and no meaning and purpose. And believe me, Jesus didn't sit on the sidelines and wait for me to realize this, and He won't for you either. In the most unlikely of circumstances, He will make His love and grace known to where you can not doubt it was anything but His Holy presence. 


Living of this world is extremely temporary. Living for something greater than yourself... with eternal significance... is what Jesus had in mind when this world was created. Something that He has really been teaching me (through listening to sermons from Northpoint Church called : Guardrails) is that in order to live this life in the way that I was created, I need to establish guardrails or boundaries. Things that I will not do, places I will not go so that in turn I will not be tempted to fall back into the things of this world. This. Is. SO. HARD!! Especially coming back to Aspen, seeing all the people I work with going out, having fun, living it up... and for a split second I thought I wanted it. But to be honest, I have filled myself with the love of Jesus so there is no need for me to find satisfaction in these temporary fixes of life. I wish so badly that each of them could see how much the things of this world will push you to the brink of danger then if anything were to happen, "It's all your fault." Life is not meant to be lived just to pass the time - it is an adventure, created my God for us to enjoy and learn in His truth. But not until we establish these standards will we realize our true joy in Jesus. The world will try to tempt you with all these unfulfilling things. But do you realize, Jesus doesn't have to tempt us. He knows He is the only way, the only true love, grace, mercy that we can experience in our temporary life on earth. Therefore He is just waiting for you to say, "Ok, Jesus, Let's do this!"