Goodness and purity should never be traits that draw attention to themselves, but should simply be magnets that draw people to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing others to Him, it is not the right kind of holiness; it is only an influence which awakens undue emotions and evil desires in people and diverts them from heading in the right direction. A person who is a beautiful saint can be a hindrance in leading people to the Lord by presenting only what Christ has done for him, instead of presenting Jesus Christ Himself. Others will be left with this thought— “What a fine person that man is!” That is not being a true “friend of the bridegroom”— I am increasing all the time; He is not.To maintain this friendship and faithfulness to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful to have the moral and vital relationship to Him above everything else, including obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it. Only occasionally is it a matter of obedience. At those times when a crisis arises, we have to find out what God’s will is. Yet most of our life is not spent in trying to be consciously obedient, but in maintaining this relationship— being the “friend of the bridegroom.” Christian work can actually be a means of diverting a person’s focus away from Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends “of the bridegroom,” we may become amateur providences of God to someone else, working against Him while we use His weapons.

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Journal DJR
Good morning Lord. It was nice today to hear Chambers saying something that you have been emphasizing to us for a long time now …

“Sometimes there is nothing to obey and our only task is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, seeing that nothing interferes with it.”

The temptation is great, however, to systemize, and quantify what we see and hear into checklists and systems. At first these seem valuable but ultimately they become bondage and lead us away from the connection that developed them. Since making up systems and checklists doesn’t keep us on track, is there a way to live that is more helpful?

It would be best simply to maintain connection with me and simply live out of that. …… But I know you, and how you are wired and that having a metaphor is helpful. So why don’t you try seeing your life as a movie. Try being the main character but looking to me for cues. You could be a supporting actor, still looking to me and delivering excellence. How about the director, staying calm when things go wrong, and you need to improvise. Don’t let this movie metaphor get out of hand. You can direct some things and you can improvise, But you will always deliver an excellent performance if you are focused and connected with me. I will lead you to ways to serve and be a blessing. Just stay curious about what I have for you next. The thing about this movie metaphor is that you can’t pre read and memorize the whole script. But you do get to know the happy ending. Between here and there you need to stay curious, look for cues, suspect the best, look for my trademarks, heed my nudges, and don’t take yourself too seriously. You will miss it from time to time. Pick yourself up and get back in the movie. Remember, we win in the end, so have fun in the middle and be a blessing to as many as you can along the way.