by Nancy Taylor Tate
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).
In this life, our relationships range from strangers, to acquaintances, to friends, to best friends, or even to a very best friend with whom we share our lives. Our interactions vary depending on the level of relationship we are engaged in and the amount of trust built.
The Bible tells us that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He loves us with a love that cannot be measured. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His desire is for us to know Him and become one with Him. From that place of oneness, we are invited to join Him in His purposes today (see Proverbs 18:24; Ephesians 3:18-19; Hebrews 13:5; John 17:21; Song of Solomon 7:11).
What a calling! How does this progression of growth come in our relationship with the Lord? The more honest and transparent we are with Him, the deeper God can work in our lives; the more He works within our lives, the more we become one with Him. Christ can be seen in us, and His power can work through us. As we yield to Him and grow to more deeply know Him, there is a joining together that can come no other way than through personal relationship.
Charles Finney, in writing about personal revival, talks about allowing the Lord to search our hearts, breaking up the fallow ground that there might come a deeper experience of Christ within.
David said it in the Psalms like this:
“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).
Wade Taylor wrote in “Our Becoming Transparent,” that “we are not called to just become ‘polished’ on the outside (religious). But rather, to be so changed within, that we become the expression of the life of Jesus (spiritual).” As the Lord works within our hearts and lives, we can become increasingly transparent, for it becomes Jesus who is seen in us, no longer hid behind all the rubble.
We have a treasure in these earthen vessels! May this treasure become fully visible and operative in each of our lives as we continue to grow ever closer to the Lord, spending time in fellowship with Him!
Note:
To read “Our Becoming Transparent” by Wade Taylor on www.wadetaylor.org :
Go to our Home Page, then scroll to the bottom of the links on the left.
In the “search box” type “Our Becoming Transparent”.