Blaaaaah…..nasty….but GOOD!

I was just thinking….worshipfully thinking about this “cup” we must drink from- the self-denial we must all drink in order to really follow Christ. Take a picture, because THE “non-drinking” is what is causing the pollution and the “stir” everyone complains about in the body of Christ.

Let me be ever so CLEAR- what we are required to give up is NOTHING compared to the sacrifice God (as Father) and Jesus (as Savior) made to reconcile us to Divine harmony and relationship. Nothing we do or sacrifice will ever compare. See Hebrews 12:4

Getting back to my point…We all have this “cup”. In drinking from the cup, you gulp the will of the Father that is opposite the will, timing and process your flesh has conjured up to get the results you think you want. Flesh doesn’t like to wait and flesh doesn’t like to lose anything. Oh, flesh doesn’t like boundaries either.

While a cup filled with self indulgence may taste like sweet cream for the time being, it will be detrimental to your life and soul. Then there’s the cup filled with self denial. Not the denial of good things per se, you know,  blessings, happiness, fun or things of that sort, just your own methods,timing and means of getting there. That cup of self denial tastes bitter, but in reality IS bitter-sweet. When the content hits the untamed tongue, it is more bitter than one can imagine, but the lasting effects are sweeter than you can fathom. The contents, God’s will, will even save your life. That’s not a bad deal.  That’s our cup, but Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath for our sins. That is an entirely different level of bitterness. “There are levels to this!”

Drink from the cup of self-denial, which can also be described as patience, virtue, discipline, faith, kindness, love, goodness and self-control all being mixed into one beverage. Drink it because it secures a destiny which is much better than the one you imagined for yourself. THIS destiny only comes one way, so…… BOTTOMS UP!