And ye are complete in him—–– Col.2:10

By nature none of us are suited for heaven. We are unrighteous and unfit. Whether a bum or a banker, a prostitute or a president, or both, none are more fit for heaven than the other. It is a fool’s folly to think that one is nearer heaven than the other. All are condemned in God’s sight. All are guilty sinners deserving of God’s wrath, in need of forgiveness and a spiritual transformation.

To be in that condition is bad, it is worse that we are helpless to change it. We are unfit for heaven and unable to make ourselves fit. In fact every effort to make ourselves presentable to God just makes us worse. Man’s religion, whatever sort it is–one is as bad as the other, is an insult to God. In Christ God has made salvation possible and those who seek it any other means trample under-foot His precious blood. By divine decree, salvation is by grace through faith in the shed blood of Christ alone. He is the Way and there is no other.

In Christ we are made complete. Without Him we are ungodly, unfit, undeserving, and unable to change the condition we are in. Our best intentions, most sincere resolutions, and noblest endeavors are all worthless. Nothing we do can secure forgiveness, acquire justification, produce righteousness, nor gain acceptance with God. Only “in Him” are we complete. Without Him we are lacking and lost! But, in Christ we have it all! Just as no sinner is more deserving of heaven than another, no believer in Christ is more fit for heaven than any other.

Others might be more wealthy, more famous or more talented, but none have any more of Christ than you. When it comes to being “in Christ” it is all or nothing. You are either in or out– there is no middle ground. Those who are in Christ could not be in a more wonderful position. Those who are not in Christ could not be in a worse condition. Where are you? Are you in Christ and complete or incomplete and in need?

Like you, I get tired of reading all the bad news. That’s why I was so blessed when I recently read this in the newspaper— “Man falls in love after falling down”. 23 year old Nate Lytle was working on a ladder when he fell. The impact of hitting the ground broke bones and his skull was cracked when his head hit a metal pipe. As he lay in a coma,“a young, shy and not particularly religious nurse named Brianna Hartman” said,“I just felt led to pray for him” and she did. As time went on the day came when she was assigned to remove the staples from his head. He opened his eyes—- well you know the rest of the story. They fell in love.“Lytle went from falling to his near death to falling in love”. Don’t you love stories with happy endings? But there’s more to this story.

Not only did Nate find love, through his experience he discovered a purpose in life. He now works with people with disabilities like autism, blindness, and mental retardation. He said,“When you are in a coma, most people think it is the worst thing to happen. Actually, it can turn out to be the best “. That’s something we all need to remember!

It is often the case that what we think is a bad thing, or even the worst thing, turns out to be a good thing or even the best thing. Were it not for being flat on their back some people would never look up. Sometimes it takes a fall of some sort to make us see our need of God. We should be greatly encouraged by the fact that God is always at work in our life, and can turn a tragedy into a treasure. God can cause “all things” to “work together for good to them that love God”(Romans 8:28). So, remember– although everything is not good, good can come from all things. Your tragedy can produce a treasure.

Sometimes we sing “I Surrender All”, but we don’t. That’s a big mistake! A lie is a lie whether we say it or sing it. Since we are accountable to God for every word we speak, we best be honest. We often speak of our successes, but seldom consider our failures. It’s good to keep both in mind. Every Christian can think of something they have “given up”, but few can say they have “given all”. It is a fool’s game to pretend we have given all when we haven’t. We need to surrender all because those things we hang on to that should be surrendered limit what God can do in our life and deprives us of greater blessings. This story. related by “Powerpoint”, illustrates what I’m talking about:

In 1805, there was a naval battle between England and France that ended with Britain prevailing. Lord Nelson was the Admiral of the British fleet. So the French Admiral came aboard the English ship and stepped into the private quarters of Lord Nelson to surrender.

When he walked in to greet Lord Nelson, he extended his hands and began congratulating the admiral for a great battle. Lord Nelson stepped back two steps, refusing to take the hand of that French admiral, and said, “Sir, your sword first, and then your hand!”

Before the Lord Jesus Christ can extend to you His blessings for your life, before He can give you His hand of power, you must first surrender the sword by submitting yourself to Him. You have to completely disarm yourself, giving Him full control and allowing Him to have His way in your life.

Many Christians today surrender up to a point, but then there’s that last little idol they just have to have. Instead, let go of the things of the world, raising your hands to Christ and telling Him, “Yes, Jesus. I’m all yours!” When you do, you’ll find more blessings than you could’ve ever received from the treasures of the world.

He that watereth shall be watered also himself–(Proverbs 11:25).

If I carefully consider others, God will consider me, and in some way or other He will recompense me. Let me consider the poor, and the LORD will consider me. Let me look after little children, and the LORD will treat me as His child. Let me feed His flock, and He will feed me. Let me water His garden, and He will make a watered garden of my soul. This is the LORD’s own promise; be it mine to fulfill the condition and then to expect its fulfillment.

I may care about myself till I grow morbid; I may watch over my own feelings till I feel nothing; and I may lament my own weakness till I grow almost too weak to lament. It will be far more profitable for me to become unselfish and out of love to my LORD Jesus begin to care for the souls of those around me. My tank is getting very low; no fresh rain comes to fill it; what shall l do? I will pull up the plug and let its contents run out to water the withering plants around me. What do I see? My cistern seems to fill as it flows. A secret spring is at work. While all was stagnant, the fresh spring was sealed; but as my stock rows out to water others the LORD thinketh upon me. Hallelujah!  (Faith’s Checkbook)

I don’t know about you, but I get tired of hearing bad news—especially when it involves me and/or my loved ones. However, I have to remind myself–that’s the price of living, and death is the only other option. Since we live in a fallen world, no bad thing should surprise us and no good thing should go unappreciated. But just because we expect bad things that doesn’t always make it easier to accept. You might expect a root-canal, but that doesn’t mean you will enjoy it.. However if we see that in the end the pain proved to be profitable, in a strange way, you can say the pain was a privilege. Make sense?

Let’s look at it another way. As a parent I consider it one of the greatest blessings in life to have children, yet it has been hard and painful at times. You can’t have one without the other. Children spell TROUBLE. They bring tremendous pleasure, but also plenty of pain. For me and most parents, the pleasure out weighs the pain. I’ll choose my children over a care-free life any day. They are worth whatever problems the cause.

I love life! I don’t enjoy everything in life, but the experience of living is worth whatever I have to endure to have the experience. When I say,”I love life” there are many things about it that I love. At the top of the list is the pleasure of life with my wife and family, and the privilege of serving the Lord. Although it is sometimes hard being a husband, a father, and a preacher, the happiness it brings far outweighs the hardness that goes along with it.

Maybe it doesn’t work for you, but it helps me greatly to think about these things. I have to focus on my privilege of living so as to not complain about the the problems that accompany it. Whether I spend my life being contented or complaining is determined by whether I view life as a privilege or a problem. How do you see life? The choice is yours–no one can make it for you. If you choose contentment no one can take it from you–you have to give it up. What will you choose?

There is so much riding on your answer I am reluctant to end this article. I feel like begging and pleading, doing everything in my power to sway your opinion. I wish I could say that I always have the perfect attitude and serve as an ideal example, but I am miles from perfect. Please don’t let my failures dissuade you from doing the right thing. I know life is tough and some of you are going through deep waters and dark valleys, and you are weary and worried. I just want to remind you that the sunshine comes after the rain, the mountain top after the valley, and pleasure after pain. Like the song says,”It will be worth it all”. It really will–you have God’s word on it. Don’t ever give up!

We find pleasure by seeing our problems as privileges because they are profitable!