(boy that looks intimidating in such big letters!)
Well what does society think about THAT?
Society (and people in general) has a lot of things to say about success and failure. Many would define success as having plenty of money, or doing great things in your lifetime. Others would define it as having a career that is prosperous, and fulfilling.
Well now that sounds fine and dandy, but as a Christian, I wonder what God has to say on the matter.
For starters, in Romans 11, we see how God addresses this issue. He refers to two types of people in these verses, the Israelites, and the Gentiles. He states that the first served Him through their works. They attempted to do their best to serve God for their own interests.
Well what is wrong with that you may ask. Those Israelites seem like they have good intentions, they might even be on the right track.
Many times this is precisely what we as Christians choose to do. We KNOW that God has a plan and purpose for our life, but we still try to find and attain that purpose on our own, through our own knowledge and schemes.
But guess what?
This is NOT what God asks from us!
When He asked that we place our lives, our selves into His hands, He meant EVERYTHING we are, including our thoughts, plans and desires. He wants to save us, redeem us and receive the glory for all aspects of our life. We are saved by GRACE and not by WORKS, or the things that WE do. (Big shocker there!)
In verse 7 of chapter 11, we can see that Israel tried to obtain it but failed. Israel was pursuing her own interests, but the key to success is allowing God to pursue HIS interests in us. The chapter ends with a beautiful conclusion that allows us to see how we can succeed: all things must be OF Him, BY Him, and TO Him.
This is how He can receive all the glory and this is what He wants and desires from our lives.
