Key Scripture. Romans 8:7 

 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Relevance

I'm 70 on June 5th, in a few days. This milestone has caused me to reflect on my past. If you have a past like mine, you will probably wince a few times and even shed some tears at the more disappointing recollections. 

Like you, I only turn 70 once. 70 is twice 35, and it was my 35th birthday that changed my life. I'll talk more about that in the next post on the 5th. 

I've been discussing inheritance in other posts and contemplating whether I act like a son or child worthy of God's inheritance. We can do nothing of ourselves to gain that inheritance. It can only come through our acceptance of the blood of Jesus Christ to wash our sins away. Everything we do after that is for the Kingdom, not to seek reward, but to build the precious place within that pleases the Lord and is according to His blueprint. (1 Corinthians 3:9-18)

The Lord's image is to be indelibly stamped on my heart, which begs the question, do I reflect Christ's image? Or is there another image, perhaps the image of Caesar? Or maybe a bit of both? 

There can only be one image. Throughout the Bible and in other histories, leaders have only accepted that their followers bow down to one image. Nowhere do they accept two images or manners of worship. Even in the end times, when many forms of worship will seem to come together in unity, it will be a lie, as one will take the lead. 

So, for me, and you, God must find only one image in our hearts. 

The Bible states that where much has been given, much is expected. So, if we have been granted eternal life, that great pinnacle of all joys, much is expected by God. He commands us to destroy all other images, grinding them to dust and washing them away, never to be raised again. 

I heard a superb one-liner that explains the walk of an overcomer on the Way of Holiness—"In order to grow as a man, you must completely destroy the old, weak and undisciplined version of yourself."

In my 70 years, this should have been my aim, but I know it hasn't always been. I'm getting older, yet I'm still weak and undisciplined in certain areas of my life. Despite being only a few days from 70, I feel as though I am eons away from where the Lord wants my spiritual growth to be. 

Many years ago, the Israelites walked their way to the Holy Land—the New Kingdom supplied by the Lord. As they passed through the desert, they were allowed to buy and sell from the worldly tribes but not become one with them. That is, not to settle down with them, get used to their ways, or follow their principles or life guidelines.

God's people were not to worship what the earthly tribes worshipped or act as they acted. Those tribes were settled in their place. They were earthly, and so were their principles. Whereas the Israelites, like Christians today, were merely passing through on their way to a God-ordained future. 

The more we attach ourselves to the image of Caesar and all it represents, the more rooted and grounded we become in this world and the less likely we are to want to leave it. 

Reflection on those things that slow us down is important at any age, but it seems more urgent to me now that I have fewer years to overcome them. 

Irrespective of whether you are younger or older than I am, I suggest you challenge yourself and set new goals that redeem time for Kingdom purposes.

Prayer

Dear Lord, One of your messages is not to waste our youth. But if we do, then you ask us to redeem the time by working diligently on the Kingdom, whether building within or helping without. I ask that you help us all in our prospects to build a precious house worthy of Your Majesty.  

Photo by Nick Fewings