Heavenly Things in Christ
There was a high ranking sergeant in the army. He hated God and Christians. Whenever he saw anyone under him who went to church, he persecuted the person so severely. So, no one from his unit could go to church. One day, one of the new soldiers went to church on Sunday and was tortured so severely that a couple of his ribs were broken.
In a few weeks later, the sergeant came to see the minister and wept, “Pastor, I am a terrible man. Can God forgive my sin? I am not worthy to live. Please pray for me. If God forgives me, I want to believe in Jesus.” He was crying bitterly. The pastor was so surprised and asked him what had happened to him?
He was shocked when he found out that the tortured Christian soldier cleaned his dirty shoes every morning despite the sergeant’s severe persecution. He couldn’t believe it. However, he found out that the Christian soldier could do it because of the love of Christ. He felt so shame that he repented and surrendered himself to Christ.
How could the soldier show that kind of love? That’s because he had the faith and practiced it with love in his everyday life. That was the power of the love. I believe the soldier meditated what the Apostle Peter says, “… Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4: 7-9)
Isn’t that what we Christians are supposed to practice and live with? Practicing this kind of love is only possible when we realize our unrighteousness against God and have Christ into our lives. C.S. Lewis said, “The great sin is pride. A proud man is always walking through life looking down on other people and other things. As a result, he cannot see something above himself, superior God.”
Chuck Colson, who was a hatchet man for President Nixon during the Watergate scandal in 1972, surrendered his life to Christ during the political turmoil. He dedicated his life to serving prisoners while he was in federal prison. He said, “The heavenly things start making sense when I replaced the pride with Jesus in my heart.”
Yes. We cannot experience the heavenly things unless we replace our pride with Jesus in our heart. As we humble ourselves in Christ, we will be led by the Holy Spirit, and we can experience the heavenly things – incredible joy and peace in our heart and the abundant blessings in our family and our work miraculously.
Our Lord be with you always!! In Christ,