Craig Clouston

When Christ Comes

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Ray wasn’t so much uncaring as he was self-preservation driven. He did what he thought was best for him. “Look, if we don’t jump on this, we may not get another opportunity.” He was adamantly defending purchasing stock options without a thorough background check of the company they were looking at. It was a merger buyout—the perfect opportunity to make a quick buck—and Ray couldn’t understand their hesitation. “Why is it so important that you know how the money is being used?”
“Shelly and I don’t want to unknowingly fund groups whose secular worldview and agendas don’t align with our biblical worldview,” his brother-in-law Peter answered. Shelly reminded Ray, “Do you remember when I spoke to you about our perspective in regard to finances?” Receiving a blank stare, she continued. “We believe our finances are God-given for the purpose of growing His kingdom, not for our own personal gain. Anything that goes against His will is not where we want our money.”
“Whatever.” His condescending attitude was dripping with sarcasm. “Just don’t cry to me because you missed out on a good deal.”
Peter never hesitated. “Ray, the last thing we would do is blame you for a poor choice on our part. So until we know what our investment is being used for, we have no intention of taking part in the merger, huge returns or not.”

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Until Christ comes into our lives, our decisions are based on selfish choices, mostly by how those choices relate to our perceived personal desires and possible accomplishment.
When Christ comes into our lives, our lives are Holy Spirit directed, and we begin to view things through kingdom lenses. Now we realize our responsibility in making spiritually correct choices.
For the most part, this does not happen automatically; we must persevere in spiritual discipline by asking God for His input in every aspect of our lives. No issue is too small; no problem is too big. To get rid of the old nature requires taking an active part in killing the old. Once we understand God’s sacrifice, it becomes a blessing to do the will of the Lord.

Prayer

“Father, show me what’s right for my life. Teach me to ask for Your advice and speak to me through others. In Jesus’ Name, amen.”