I profess to be a lover of God and a follower of Jesus Christ. It is a process that began decades ago and continues to develop. However, in my more honest moments, I recognize that too often I love God poorly and follow Jesus inconsistently. If there really is One true God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who is personal, all-powerful, all-knowing, and omnipresent, even to the edges of the ever-expanding universe, the implications for life are as mind boggling as is His greatness.

If the story goes beyond the greatness of His being to the greatness of His love … if He literally gave His own life to save mine, I am at a loss for words and means to express my gratitude and His worth. Reason alone would indicate that this God would be the focus of my thoughts and my affections. Pleasing Him would be the goal of my work and play. My relationships with others would mirror the love and grace He has extended to me.

My reality turns out to be unreasonable as I allow substitutes to take the focus of my thoughts and affections … as I substitute pleasing myself and others for pleasing Him … as my relationships with others too easily become about how they affect me rather than how they reflect Him. The writings of C.S. Lewis and Tim Keller have reminded me that all sin is at its core idolatry - substituting something or someone for God.  The constant battle of my flawed state is to accept no substitutes for the One who substituted Himself for me.

There will be many who do not accept my presuppositions about the God I describe. However, if those presuppositions are true, as I have come to believe, the implications are unavoidable. I wonder if they would be more inclined to accept that God if they were to see those implications lived out in my life and the lives of those who profess to love God and follow Jesus.