What Deforms a Soul
Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. - (2 Corinthians 5:14–15)
There are people who say that God is very harsh, that He is very hard to follow. But the problem is they have a faulty view of God.
I never had a dad growing up, but I will tell you this: I have known my heavenly Father for a while now, and He always has dealt with me in love and never has been inconsistent. I don’t always understand (or even agree with) what my Father in heaven does. But I have submitted to Him because I know He is looking out for my best interests.
In Luke 19, Jesus told a parable about a nobleman who went away and entrusted some of his servants with an equal amount of silver to invest while he was gone. When he returned from his journey, one of the servants told him, “Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant” (verses 20–21). Even when the day of reckoning arrived, there was no sense of regret on the servant’s part and no sorrow over his lack of productivity. In fact, he actually blamed his boss for his shortcomings.
A lot of people today are like that servant: It is not my fault. . . . All of my teachers are bad. . . . All of my bosses are bad.
Our view of God affects everything we do in life. If we have a warped view of God, it will affect the way that we live. As A. W. Tozer said, “Nothing twists and deforms a soul more than a low or unworthy conception of God.”
The proper motivation for serving the Lord should be a love for Him.
Copyright © 2013 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
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