Jesus is important to us because through His Atonement, teachings, hope, peace, and example, He helps us change our lives, face our trials, and move forward with faith as we journey back to Him and His Father.
I talked about this yesterday in my lesson – change is essential if we want to return to our Heavenly Father. Because “the natural man is an enemy to God…”
Only by submitting my will to God and by surrendering to Christ can I expect to change and become a new creature in Christ.
Only by asking for His help and by believing that He really is there to help me, can I become like Him.
It reminds me of the scripture I heard yesterday in Sacrament meeting: “How knowest the master whom he hasn’t served?”
13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart? (Mosiah 5:13)
And this leads to Mosiah 2:17:
17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
As I serve others, especially my wife and children and neighbors, really whoever I serve, I am serving Him. And by serving Him, I am getting to know Him better.
I also like what the scripture says about not having Him “far from the thoughts and intents of [my] heart.” This is about awareness and living in recovery one day at a time. If I’m not always thinking about how I am living in recovery today, I can get distracted and deceived by the power of Satan and he can lead me down paths I never thought I’d go.
But if I’m thinking of Jesus and how I can surrender to Him, I will be close to Him and He will be there to help me through the trials and difficulties of life.
In Mosiah 5:13, I also looked at the word “knowest” and found this scripture in Jeremiah:
22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
If I don’t know Christ, I am “wise to do evil” because if I know Christ, I want want to do evil; I will have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2)
Matthew 7:21-23 is interesting too in regard to knowing Christ:
21 ¶Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
What does this mean? Who is this talking about? How does this apply to me?
I’ve always professed to know who Christ is. I’ve always said I believe in His teachings; however, when I’ve been caught in my addictions, I have been so far from Him that I didn’t really even know what He wanted for me. It was all about ME and what I wanted.
In order to know the Lord, I must be doing His will, doing the will of the Father which is in heaven.
The way to come to know God and His Son is by doing their will.
What is the will of God for me?
I feel God wants me to speak to Him often, to ask Him questions, and to let Him know how I’m feeling about things. I feel that He can talk to me via the scriptures and words of the living prophets.
I feel that, as I ask Him for help in my recovery, I’m getting to know Him more and putting my trust in Him.
I also feel that I can get to know Him more as I focus on taking good care of my children, by loving them and being patient with them and teaching them the truth. This is what He does for me: he loves me, he is so patient with me, and he gives me opportunities to learn and apply the truth in my life one day at a time.
3 And this is lifeeternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)
This is what life is all about: to get to know God and His Son.
Here are some additional scriptures that talk about knowing God:
- Jeremiah 9:3: “…but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord.
I want to know God. I want to know Jesus Christ. I want to feel close to them. I want to be doing their will. I want to live in recovery today. I want to be able to feel comfortable and at peace when I see them again.
I don’t want to do these things for the praise of men; I want to do them so I can become my best self, the person that God wants me to become.
I want to take care of my family and raise them in righteousness.
I want to have the best relationship with Becky. I never want her to doubt that I am here today and that I love her so much.
I look forward to today!
Hasta luego!
Nate
UPDATE: I sent this article I’d written over a year ago to my sponsee today. Hopefully it will help him understand my perspective on the importance of burying my weapons of war.
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