The Screwtape Letters - Quite Curious...

I just finished reading The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. What an amazing piece of work. It took me a bit before I could wrap my mind around the writings, but after about the third or fourth letter I was in deep... If you haven't read these I highly recommend it to any reader. The way they are laid out in letter form makes it easy to pick up or stop at any time.

As I was reading through each letter my mind would travel down various paths. One letter is about Screwtape trying to convince his unworthy nephew Wormwood, an apprentice demon, to try to trip up his "patient" by lulling him into complacency. After he becomes complacent he will be of no use to the enemy (God).

It really got me to think about how easy it is to name the name of Christ and have absolutely no change in my heart. Going around feeling satisfied merely about my decision to follow God. Then doing very little following and a whole lot of leading. "Hey God, come this way with me or be with me in this area of my life." Telling rather than asking... all the while not considering that my heart is far from him and my motives are purely selfish. God desires us to not be complacent. We should be active in filling our heart with Him and becoming more like Christ every day. Complacency isn't just about not doing this or that and still being satisfied, it is also about not filling our heart with the things of God and being satisfied...

1Ki 11:4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

Even a man like Solomon turned his heart to other gods. God doesn't just request that we devote our heart fully to him, he requires it. When we confess with our mouth that He is Lord there should be some evidence in our heart of a transformation.

1Ch 28:9 "And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Today is a new day. I encourage you to not be satisfied with where you are currently in your walk with Christ, but to stretch yourself beyond your wildest imagination. Pray big, bless others richly, and look to Jesus to fill your heart more and more with himself.

Blessings today as you are satisfied only in Him.
Keith