"BY" AND "BY"

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me—and we have misinterpreted His meaning!



The key word is "by". Too often we take this to mean that by believing Christ is the Son of God, we can take advantage of His perfection to slip comfortably into eternal life. But "by" also means "in the same manner as—and that puts a whole new perspective on things. . .



I can say, "I am an athlete," but unless I train and discipline myself and regulate my diet and learn all the rules of the game—and practice them—my words are empty. I can't be an athlete and a wheezing Fat-and-Fifty couch potato at the same time.



I can say, "I am a Christian," but unless I serve God and my fellow man AT ALL TIMES in unjudgmental love and humility—as Christ did!—I am only deceiving myself. It takes conscious effort and daily practice to be a Christ-one.



Christ was the living example, the role model, the hero to be emulated by all who would be saved. Like children—and spiritually we must all learn and grow, like children—we are to look up to our Big Brother Jesus and consciously pattern our daily walk after His example.



We are to pray, "Not my will but Thine be done." And we are not only to say it, but also to do it—to accept the will of God in our life, regardless of our own wishes in the matter—because that is what Christ did. Grumbling Christianity is no Christianity at all!



Remember His warning, "Not all who call on my name shall be saved, but those who do the will of my Father Who is in heaven"? Once again the key word has only two letters: "DO!"



Remember His command, "Unless a man hateth his father and his mother and himself (that is, his personal desires)". . . ? Nothing and nobody is to come between us and our love of God. God MUST be the first concern of our lives; we must serve Him in all we do.



Remember He said, "The foxes have their dens and the birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head?" We can`t 'keep up with the Joneses' and keep up with Christ at the same time—for these hypothetical 'Joneses' value their possessions above everything. Whether they know it or not, they are serving Mammon, the god of wealth and material possessions. And Christ warned us, "You cannot serve God and Mammon. . . Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moth cannot destroy nor rust corrupt."



Life is not a game; nor is success measured by the envy in any man`s eyes. Decide this day whom you will serve.



As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.