As a church we are currently reading the book of Acts and it's been eye opening. It's made me think deeper about the whole purpose of the gospel and whether I truly understand the will of God. I've found myself asking: how is it that, we can read the word of God and still completely miss the gist of the matter? How is that, while thinking we are serving God, we can be scattering with Satan? This is something worth noting. I know in my personal Christian walk I've had moments when I've completely missed the point and instead of becoming a better person I wasn't.
In my personal experience this has happened when I've valued doctrine without seeking validation from God. By this I mean taking a principle and applying it wrongly; without actually asking God whether I am doing what he wants on a daily basis. I think it's really important to constantly ask God if we're still in His will. It's easy to be so engrossed in the truth while becoming more evil. Look at the Jews- how they were so keen on condemning & killing; yet the whole purpose of the gospel is to wash our sins away. It's to hate sin and not the sinner.
I believe when truth becomes effectual it changes us to God likeness and I think our personal duty as we continue to come into contact with truth is to ask ourselves if it's making us more like Christ & mindful of the next person. The gospel is deep. It's not about knowing-but it's truly about a changed life and about saving humanity from the sting of sin. I pray that we never lose sight of the bigger picture and truly our safest is in behold Christ & the cross. I pray we don't get to the point where we're so engrossed in the things of God and completely miss Him!
On losing Christ & Retaining Him:
[ Based on Luke 2:41-51]; Desire of Ages: Chapter 8
If Joseph and Mary had stayed their minds upon God by meditation and prayer, they would have realized the sacredness of their trust, and would not have lost sight of Jesus. By one day's neglect they lost the Saviour; but it cost them three days of anxious search to find Him. So with us; by idle talk, evilspeaking, or neglect of prayer, we may in one day lose the Saviour's presence, and it may take many days of sorrowful search to find Him, and regain the peace that we have lost.
In our association with one another, we should take heed lest we forget Jesus, and pass along unmindful that He is not with us. When we become absorbed in worldly things so that we have no thought for Him in whom our hope of eternal life is centered, we separate ourselves from Jesus and from the heavenly angels. These holy beings cannot remain where the Saviour's presence is not desired, and His absence is not marked. This is why discouragement so often exists among the professed followers of Christ.
Many attend religious services, and are refreshed and comforted by the word of God; but through neglect of meditation, watchfulness, and prayer, they lose the blessing, and find themselves more destitute than before they received it. Often they feel that God has dealt hardly with them. They do not see that the fault is their own. By separating themselves from Jesus, they have shut away the light of His presence.
It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.
As we associate together, we may be a blessing to one another. If we are Christ's, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory." 2 Corinthians 3:18.
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