There is a greater sin than not obeying Jesus; it is the sin of not believing that he loves you.
When you believe another person has your best interests at heart, you can accept great difficulties on behalf of that person. People will actually pay doctors to literally rip their insides out, because they trust their good intentions.
When Jesus asks you to do something difficult, he's testing your faith in his love and goodness.
Very few are willing to live by faith in obedience to Jesus. After all, he asks us to give up our career, family, possessions, and reputation.
But he does so because he has something better to give you. We tried it and it's true.
Like the merchant man who sold all he had to get the most perfect pearl in the world, we are no longer concerned about what we paid for it, because we now know what a bargain we have received.
It has been argued that God "in his mercy" does not expect us to take the teachings of Jesus literally. The assumption, of course, is that the teachings of Christ contradict Gods mercy.
But we have discovered that the teachings of Jesus are expressions of his mercy. In accepting Jesus, we have not just accepted a name and a ticket to heaven, but we have accepted his whole plan of salvation; and it starts right now.While you cling to your mediocrity, your respectability, your image of balance and moderation, you will never experience this world of faith and love. Let go of your lukewarm religious counterfeits and begin to believe that God really does love you... infinitely... in every word that Jesus spoke.
You cannot say, "I believe you love me, and as an expression of that faith, I will reject your discipline." This is not faith. It's a slap in the face of a loving God. But if we will accept God's call, letting our lives be moulded according to his will, everything will work together for our good. (Romans 8:28)
The religious world is full of people trying to conduct their own operations. They refuse to put themselves totally in the hands of the Master Surgeon. They fear losing identity, friends, family, wealth, or status. And because of it, they are slowly losing their souls!
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