Nothing or More
It is often said in the Church that we are nothing without Christ. I agree with it to an extent because I understand the point that is trying to be made but I wonder if that perspective is stopping a bit short. It seems easy to me to say that we are an empty glass just waiting for the Lord to fill. This approach means that we are simply lacking something. It is true that as a non-believer we lack Christ in our lives and without him we lack any good thing. I believe, however, that even taking that approach gives too much credit to ourselves. It lends itself to the cultural mindset that we are generally good people.
To have a more accurate comprehension of our position before the Lord we must have a clearer understanding of who we are and who he his. The more we realize our depravity the more clearly we see God’s complete holiness. We are not basically good people who JUST need God to fill us with his holiness. We are not just nothing, we are more than nothing. We are not just void of goodness and an empty cup waiting to be filled. We are a cup full of sin. We not only need God to fill our cup but he needs to clean it out first!
Rather than saying we are nothing without Christ maybe we should be saying we are nothing but unredeemed sinful creatures without Christ. We need to remember that we NEEDED GOD to save us because 1) we could not save ourselves and 2) we are sinful creatures who are indeed in need of a Savior to begin with.
What are your thoughts on the empty glass verses a glass full of sinfulness…………
Tags: Christianity, culture, Pondering Posted in Christianity
May 18th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
An empty glass gives the impression of potential either way. But the human heart is dead in trespasses and sins, walking in the lusts of the flesh.
BUT GOD………
My Sabbath thoughts were on a similar vein.
Ruby’s last blog post..Of Total Depravity…..
May 20th, 2009 at 6:53 am
This concept has been on my mind too. I hear people say, “He’s not a Christian, but he has a good heart.” If they really understood what they were saying, they would recognize the contradiction. Unbelievers can do “good things” in the eyes of people, but it does not mean they have “good hearts.”
Casey’s last blog post..The Hills are Alive!
Twitter: MamaArcher
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May 20th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Casey- to go along with that thought–many people misun derstand total depravity as well- it does not mean that we are as “bad” as we could possibly be but that we are depraved in every aspect or part of our being.