A fellow Elder in our church, Bert, uses an illustration which explains so many people's spiritual state and the life problems which result. Simply put, many who claim Jesus as Lord of their lives, and all of us times, suffer from a pie problem!
What do I mean by a pie problem?
It is easy to compartmentalize our faith as if it were one slice of the overall pie that makes up our lives. We may tend to keep our faith slice separate from our work slice, our friends slice, our entertainment slice, or various other things that make up the pie of our lives. When we compartmentalize our faith, our lives outside of church activities will look very much like those of the lost people around us, and we don't enjoy many of the blessings of a relationship with Jesus, if we have one!
What is the solution to this problem? See your relationship with Jesus as the pie and all other parts of your life as slices of that pie!
Listen to what God's word says about where our faith fits into our lives:
Matt. 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
1 Cor. 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
2 Cor. 5:16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
What is very clear about all of these texts is that we, as followers of Jesus, are to be seeking to know and do His will, in all areas of our lives, all the time, for His glory!
Let's take a hard and honest look at our lives, our "pies" if you will, and see if we are living like our lives are all about Jesus, or He is just one slice of the pie.
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
I think of my relationship with Jesus as the crust that holds the whole pie and its contents together. It's foundational.
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