“If we make secondary things primary, they cease to be secondary and become idolatrous. They have their place. But they are not first, and they are not guaranteed. Life is precarious, and even if it is long by human standards, it is short.” –John Piper, This Momentary Marriage
I am often guilty of desiring, pursuing, and delighting in good things rather than the best thing. I long to be more Christ-like; I want to be a better friend; I strive to improve as a wife. Doesn’t all that sound pretty awesome?
I didn’t notice anything wrong with my thinking until I realized that Christianity isn’t a self-help program. It’s not primarily about becoming better. Christianity is primarily about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Because of what He has accomplished on my behalf, I have access to God and stand before Him blameless.
When I fix my gaze on Jesus and what He has done, He becomes the supreme treasure of my life. He is exalted to His rightful spot on the throne of my heart, and everything else falls into its proper place somewhere beneath Him. As a result, I am free to enjoy the blessings He’s given me and the work He’s doing in my life appropriately – as byproducts of my relationship with Him, rather than as ultimate things which rival Jesus for my attention and affection.
Jesus is not a side-note in my quest for godliness. He is the goal – the ultimate One – and as I desire, pursue, and delight in Him, amazingly enough He works godliness into my life in His way, in His time, for His glory.
-Abbey Le Roy