Steps to Christ WHERE THE EFFORT COUNTS
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Tim. 6:12.
There are two ways to fight God. One way is to say, "I don't believe in God. I have no use for Him, no time for Him." So I don't go to Him. There is a more subtle way that is just as effective. That is to go to God with the thought that God helps those who help themselves. I take my problems to Him, but I don’t leave them with Him. Instead I get myself mixed up in the whole situation.
I can have trouble with my car, and I can keep the auto mechanic from fixing my car by not going to him. But there's a much more subtle way of fighting the mechanic. I can take my car to him, and after he gets it in the garage and lifts up the hood, I can put my head in the other side and I can say, "Now just a minute. Don't touch the spark plugs. I just put those in two years ago. And don't touch the carburetor. The carburetor is very delicate and you might knock it out of kilter. And whatever you do, don't touch the power steering." Finally, he throws down his tools and says, "Here, take your care and fix it yourself." I come to God and I say, "Now, God I'd like to have You do this for me." But then I get myself all mixed up in the operation. I'm trying to do part of it and trying to let God do part of it, and in this confusion, the mixing of my own efforts with God's power, comes defeat.
The reason that so many people are frustrated in the Christian life is that they are working on the results instead of the cause. Even boys and girls know the answer to the question "If you had to choose between working on eating and working on growing, which would you choose?" It doesn't take them long to say, "Well, if you choose to work on eating, you'll do both, but if you choose to work on growing, you'll do neither." The cause of our Christian growth has to do with knowing Jesus as our personal Friend. The result comes in His living His life within us.
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Tim. 6:12.
There are two ways to fight God. One way is to say, "I don't believe in God. I have no use for Him, no time for Him." So I don't go to Him. There is a more subtle way that is just as effective. That is to go to God with the thought that God helps those who help themselves. I take my problems to Him, but I don’t leave them with Him. Instead I get myself mixed up in the whole situation.
I can have trouble with my car, and I can keep the auto mechanic from fixing my car by not going to him. But there's a much more subtle way of fighting the mechanic. I can take my car to him, and after he gets it in the garage and lifts up the hood, I can put my head in the other side and I can say, "Now just a minute. Don't touch the spark plugs. I just put those in two years ago. And don't touch the carburetor. The carburetor is very delicate and you might knock it out of kilter. And whatever you do, don't touch the power steering." Finally, he throws down his tools and says, "Here, take your care and fix it yourself." I come to God and I say, "Now, God I'd like to have You do this for me." But then I get myself all mixed up in the operation. I'm trying to do part of it and trying to let God do part of it, and in this confusion, the mixing of my own efforts with God's power, comes defeat.
The reason that so many people are frustrated in the Christian life is that they are working on the results instead of the cause. Even boys and girls know the answer to the question "If you had to choose between working on eating and working on growing, which would you choose?" It doesn't take them long to say, "Well, if you choose to work on eating, you'll do both, but if you choose to work on growing, you'll do neither." The cause of our Christian growth has to do with knowing Jesus as our personal Friend. The result comes in His living His life within us.
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