Jacob 6-7

(August 17, 2014)

                Jacob teaches us in chapter 6 the secret, as I understand it, to life.  It is not enough for us to want to repent of the surface problems we have, or even the serious problems that we have.  It isn’t enough for us to want to be good people, because setting our sights on being good is setting our sights on being Terrestrial.  Our obligation, and the grand secret (if I have learned one in my life) is to come unto God with “full purpose of heart.”

                We need to be willing to have Christ’s Grace fully eliminate our character weaknesses, and to repent of all of our sins.  It isn’t enough to repent of the sins we see making our lives a mess today – we need to repent of those sins we think make our lives better, or those weaknesses we are comfortable with.  Only when we are prepared to fully turn our wills over to God do we experience the power the Lord has to offer in our lives.

                I have often wondered why it has been in my life that I have experienced the blessings that I have been able to be a part of.  After all, I have not lived a particularly righteous life, I have made some tragic and significant mistakes, and I have fallen frequently.  But, in considering this, I recognize that one of the greatest strengths that I have is a genuine desire to lay my will upon the altar of the Lord and give it fully to Him.  I have tried to do it in the past, but I find myself questioning and becoming willful and prideful, but I work within myself (and the Lord’s gentle but constant pull helps me) until such time as I again put my will upon the altar.

                I keep telling myself (and I believe) that if I keep putting myself in the position where I am putting my will upon the altar, over time I will reach a point where I will leave it on the altar.  I am anxious for that day, because while I know that it will bring inevitable challenges of its own, I have felt the power that comes from the Lord with my feeble efforts in this regard, and I can only imagine the power that will come if I am able to fully give up my pride and self-will.