The pastor said in church today that we could never be like the original disciples of Christ, implying that they are inherently better than us.This notion is not new to me, I have heard it many times before. In fact, it seems that most Christians believe this. But when I hear someone say this, I think to myself why? Perhaps, it is my pride that has trouble with this. The bible does say to consider others better than yourself. But while Im sure my pride has a part in my dislike of the this statement, I have other reasons for disagreeing. First, it really does not bother me much to say that the original disciples were more spiritual mature than I am. My problem is when we make a blank statement applying it to everyone. To suggest that they were better is to say that they have reached a place or maturity that we will never be able to attain. I just read in my devotion yesterday what Oswald Chambers had to say about standards. He said, " What's the point of presenting me with such a lofty ideal if cannot possibly come close to reaching it?" His point was that Christ can and will make make us like himself, like what he teaches us to be. So it is wrong to believe that we can never attain the maturity of the disciples, or other church fathers and leaders for that matter. It is not about thinking we are better than them, but putting others on a pedestal (where only Christ belongs) and believing we can never reach that high. What does that say about my faith in Jesus? In his ability to change us and sanctify us. Maybe the disciples were more mature than we are today, but who's is really to know? Just because we aren't more mature now doesn't mean we won't ever be. The real danger in believing they are better is settling for less than Christ desires for us. Many people look at these Saints and think God will never ask me to do that or I could never be that. But this is wrong, Christ can and will make you do those things. We are not to be come complacent and be disobedient to Christ. Christ is powerful and he can use us, yes us, to do even greater things than the disciples.
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What I write AboutMy posts are all about the Christian walk in some way or another. I do my best to make what I post worth reading, thus there are many more things that I write about but do not post. Some of my posts are my reflections on scripture or a quote, other posts are simply my testimony, and others still are letters of encouragement. I hope that you will be encouraged or challenged in your walk with Christ as a result. God Bless you, my friend.
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