Half-redeemed Christians

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"A man cannot redeem himself— redemption is the work of God, and is absolutely finished and complete. And its application to individual people is a matter of their own individual action or response to it. A distinction must always be made between the revealed truth of redemption and the actual conscious experience of salvation in a person’s life."

I didn't fully understand this last paragraph of My Utmost for His Highest when I read it this morning..so I kept the page open to read over later (which was just now). And as I was walking my bike back to my apartment after morning classes, I was struck by this compassion for my sisters in ICA. I saw one of them walking on campus yesterday, she had shades on and seemed to have a melancholy cloud around her. I have a class with another sister and saw her this morning, and she seemed unusually quiet. I don't know if there's something going on in their lives currently, and will find out later tonight, but these instances coupled with an hour of prayer this morning formed in me a God-given compassion for my fellow Christians, a compassion that I know I've always been awfully short of. I realized that it's one thing to not even be conscious of the sin separating one from God, and to enjoy the world without guilt..but there's another to not just be conscious of sin, but to struggle against the world everyday and to attempt to be a "good Christian" by one's own strength.

I always think of how lucky I am compared to many of the Christians I know..that I have been prophesied over so many times, that I have heard God so much more directly than a lot of Christians could ever wish for. Sometimes I feel like it's not fair. It's not fair that I get to hear and experience God so much more powerfully than others. It's not fair that I have this close relationship with Him and experience true joy and love whenever I come before Him..while a lot of Christians I know and interact with about their spiritual lives, struggle with temptation and bear their own problems and burdens because they don't truly believe God cares for and loves them. No matter how much I try to tell people they are loved by God..they have to experience it for themselves, and they haven't been able to. I couldn't understand this, and I started condemning myself..that maybe if I got more people to come to IHOP, they'd be so much freer today. It's just that I've already learned the answer to all these problems people struggle with in Christian living. They're trying to "tinker with their souls" and love with their own strength, and think up applications on how to be a better Christian..when all it takes is just gazing upon the beauty of the Lord every day in prayer and intimacy, so God can do all the transformation and the Holy Spirit can give revelations we could never think up with our own minds. All it takes is reforming this connection and intimacy with Him everyday, where all joy and love and power comes from.

Anyway, God reassured me a lot by this last paragraph..that HE is sovereign and HE will lead people to His heart by His own timing. True and complete redemption is the work of God. But all I can say is..IHOP changed my life:) and God is soooooo gracious.
Woo..time for lunch.

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