When the Lord found me and began transforming my life, I was very grateful because I was able to have a fresh start with my marriage. My love for God was primarily based on the benefits I was receiving as a follower of Jesus. The promises seemed to be limitless and many of the passages, from my carnal perspective, implied that all I had to do was believe and I could have anything I wanted. When I experienced adversity, I figured it was just because I didn’t have enough faith and needed to study more Scripture. As I learned more about the Lord, my perspective began to change and I discovered that the Cross was twofold. I started to see that it was not only where Jesus died for me but also the place where I died to the world. My love for Him took on a whole new meaning because it was based on His majesty and splendor instead of what He was doing for me. God revealed that His love for me is much deeper than just providing my wants and desires for material things. I am so grateful that He didn’t leave me to my own, self-centered ways.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Colossians 3:1-4
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”
1 John 2:15-16