The Book of Eli

"The Book of Eli," now that was a good movie. I would not let my young children watch it, for it is very violent, but so good. The world has fallen apart from a war and the people are more corrupt than ever. God has been taken away and their hearts are rotten through and through. They have no meaning in life. This life is for survival of the fittest and anything goes.

Eli was a man on a mission. His job was to take the only bible that was left, West. He read it everyday. He read it so much that he had it memorized word for word. But, there was a lesson in this movie for me. My lesson was the same as Eli's lesson. Toward the end he stated that he had gotten so caught up in his mission of carrying the book west that he had forgotten to live by the lessons that he had learned. This is the same lesson that I must remember for myself. I can get so caught up in what I am showing others, that I forget that the true lesson everyday is my relationship with my God, and am I really desiring a real relationship with Him. Is my relationship with Him mainly based upon my blessings? Am I seeking Him hoping that He will bless me, or am I wanting a personal relationship with Him even if the physical blessings do not come.

Oswald Chambers, "The essential thing is my personal relationship with Jesus Christ— “...that I may know Him...” ( Philippians 3:10 ). To fulfill God’s perfect design for me requires my total surrender— complete abandonment of myself to Him. Whenever I only want things for myself, the relationship is distorted. And I will suffer great humiliation once I come to acknowledge and understand that I have not really been concerned about realizing Jesus Christ Himself, but only concerned with knowing what He has done for me."

When my children see me, do they see a woman in love with her God, and in response do they feel His love through me? Does my husband see me as a cranky tired woman, or does he see a young woman in love with life and free to laugh? When I start my days, I start them with God, but do I apply what I have been learning about my God to my actions in my everyday life? Or is this just part of my mission, for I feel driven to do this. Like Eli I feel driven to do certain things in this life. I feel a drive to share with others my story and my God, but am I missing that relationship with God along the way?

1 Samuel 2:1-2, “My heart rejoices in the Lord! The Lord has made me strong. Now I have an answer for my enemies; I rejoice because you rescued me. No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." There is nothing so important as my personal relationship with my Lord. While I walk out this salvation and do what He is calling me to do, I do not want to miss Him in this call. I want my love for Him to be seen by how I love my family. If I love everyone else but my family, I have loved no one. You've heard the saying, "If a man has loved a hundred women then the has loved none. But, if he has loved one, he has loved them all." If I love everyone else, but have not loved my family, then I have loved no one. If I have time for everyone else, but not enough time for my family, then I really have no real time for anyone.

"My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace, Nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.Am I measuring my life by this standard or by something less?" (OC)
Am I seeking to know God and in knowing Him do I love more? What is my real mission; is it to work for Him, or to know and live by Him?

http://utmost.org/the-spiritually-self-seeking-church/