To gain everything
Last week my friend and I were discussing how our lives are now compared to years ago when we hadn’t given our lives to Christ. We talked about how we both were living our lives without Christ and didn’t even know how dark, unfulfilling and empty our lives were at that time. We wondered how in the world we lived without Christ Jesus being the center like He is in our lives today.
Before I gave my life to Christ I thought in order to walk the straight and narrow path I would have to give up everything. I wrestled with the idea of giving up my way of life to start a new way of life with Christ. I wanted to continue my bad habits and didn’t want to change my ways. I wanted to keep doing what I was doing, going where I was going and hanging out with who I was hanging out with.
Lee Ann from http://pleeanns.blogspot.com/said it perfect when she said “Not realizing it at the time, but later on you find out that you don’t give up anything…you gain everything!” She is right! You have everything to gain and nothing to loose!
You give up darkness for light!
You give up brokenness for wholeness!
You give up hurt for healing!
You give up emptiness for fullness!
You give up shattered for repaired!
You give up crushed for mended!
You give up disconnected for connected!
You give up hungry for full!
You give up NOTHING for EVERYTHING!
What do you think about when you hear the word Christian? Does it make you think of giving up something? When you give up and let go of the world you are gaining more than you know!
Luke 8:44 “She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.”
This lady touched the edge of His Cloak and was forever changed. It’s impossible to be the same once you have just a touch of Jesus. She only touched the hem and she was forever changed…that’s all it takes, just one touch.
One touch and it’s over as you know it!!
Your life is changed forever!!
John 4:14 “But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Picture a glass of water sitting on a table which represents Christ.
Looking at that glass of water represents you pondering about living for Christ and being a Christian; knowing about Christ.
Walking closer to the glass of water and staring more intensely at it represents you becoming more interested about becoming a Christian.
Touching the glass of water represents you coming to church, checking it out and learning about Christ and considering giving your life to Christ.
Drinking the water represents you giving your life to Christ because your heart has been touched by Him.
It is impossible to not be changed once you have a taste of God. Once you have been touched and changed by Christ, it is impossible to remain the same and to not give your life to Him. You can’t help but want to give up your old life when you are presented with a new and more fulfilling life full of love, peace and joy.
Genesis19:26 “But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.”
Lot’s wife missed out because she didn’t want to give anything up. She wanted to hold onto that life instead of giving it up to gain more…she lost everything. I don’t think she realized what she had to GAIN instead; she could only see what she was loosing.
It saddens my heart to know that people all over the world everyday are not choosing Christ because of what they don’t want to give up in their lives. What they don’t understand is they’re not loosing anything worth clinging to…they’re gaining everything there is to cling to!
Don’t look back!! Emptiness, disappointment and heartache are all the world has to offer. Give it up to GAIN more than you could possibly imagine! Trust me…it’s worth it 🙂 I couldn’t imagine living without having Him apart of my life each and everyday.
He brings us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light! I didn’t know I was in darkness until He brought me into the light. I didn’t know at the time that I wasn’t giving up anything…I was gaining everything. To die to the world is to gain true life!
Blessings,
Krista
Visit my personal devotional blog at http://fromthepagesoflove.blogspot.com/
Beautiful post.
Amen to that, Krista. Yes, we are afraid of giving up anything, but in truth we gain everything.
Thank you so much for sharing the truth and from your heart.
Krista,
I really enjoyed your story about the “glass of water”. This was a very unique way of discussing how important it is for each of us to have Christ in our lives. I can not imagine what a day would be like with Him.
Peggy
Yes Krista, we gain everything. And we look around and see the things that people seek, looking to the world for answers that can only come from above. The money, big houses, fancy cars, plastic surgery, will never give you what He can. Thanks for the post.
Andie
Great post Krista! Yes we have gained everything when we say YES to Christ! The world has nothing to offer us.
Great post Krista. I’m so grateful for all that I gained when I accepted Him.
Krista, what you wrote is so true. We gain so much but when living in darkness people often only see rules and what they cannot do. Once Christ sits on the throne of our hearts, He changes us from the inside out. I know the things I used to find fun no longer hold their appeal to me. And realizing that we have peace with God and our future is secure for eternity, well it doesn’t get much better than that.
I look forward to more of your posts.
Blessings and love,
Debbie