Brighter Horizons

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade."
1 Peter 1:3-4
A Broken and Contrite Heart
Recently I came across these verses in Psalm 51:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
       you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
       a broken and contrite heart,
       O God, you will not despise.

These are verses that I'd heard before. But this time I decided to look at them more closely. Specifically, what does it mean to have a contrite heart? Being an accountant I wasn't quite sure, so I looked it up:

con·trite: adj. Deeply affected with grief and regret for having done wrong

Here are my conclusions:

To be contrite is to be cut to the core by my own depravity.
To be contrite is to be brought to tears by my continual failings.
To be contrite is to beg for my own damnation.

For it is only when I fall at God's feet, with a broken spirit and a contrite heart, that I can, but for a moment, glimpse the world (and myself) through God's own eyes. And it is only as I cling to His cross, that I can start to fathom the true meaning of grace.

Following God is not about my personal sacrifices.
Following God is not about my words nor my works.
Following God is about never forgetting the cost.

Posted: Wednesday, October 25, 2006 12:07 AM
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Comments

Kat DC said:

wow walshy, thankyou so much for sharing that

it has given me much to think about

# October 24, 2006 9:01 PM

chelsea said:

wow! thats very powerful.

and definately something i think we all need to hear.

thank you.

# October 25, 2006 6:50 AM

lemdog said:

i'm down with what you wrote old man, in a big way & loving it.  But I reckon there's one more thing to following God, and that comes in response to your last line.  Following God is most definitely about not forgetting the cost, but at the same time, following God entails more than just not forgetting.  It's a starting point, but the effect of what happened on the cross has to radiate in the form of a life changed and a life that is different from the rest of the world.

You're right in saying that following God is never about our deeds, it has always and will always be about having a tight relationship with God.

# October 29, 2006 12:51 PM

Shannon said:

Amen.

# November 1, 2006 6:22 AM

walshy said:

Yeah you're totally right Lemuel. Never forgetting the cost should completely transform the way we live. It should compel us to trust, obey and serve God - not because we are commanded to, but because we want to - to "live a life worthy of the calling we have received" (Eph 4:1).

# November 2, 2006 5:51 AM
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