In Need Of The "I" Doctor

Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matt. 9: 12- 13

By Paul Tripp, Whiter Than Snow

Here are the radical words [from the Lord's Prayer that will change your life if you truly understand what you are saying] I have been alluding to: "Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). I must admit that I don’t always greet God’s kingdom with delight. There are things that I want in my life, and I not only want them, but I know how, when, and where I want them! I want my life to be comfortable. I want my schedule to be unobstructed and predictable. I want the people around me to esteem and appreciate me. I want control over the situations and relationships in my life. I want people to affirm my opinions and follow my lead. I want the pleasures that I find entertaining to be available to me. I want the ministry initiatives that I direct to be well received and successful. I want my children to appreciate that they have been blessed with me as their father. I don’t want to suffer. I don’t want to live without. I don’t want to have to deal with personal defeat or [professional failure]. What I am saying is that I want my kingdom to come and my will to be done.

“Thy kingdom come” is a dangerous prayer, for it means the death of our own sovereignty. It means your life will be shaped by the will of another. It means that you will experience the messiness, discomfort, and difficulty of God’s refining grace. It means surrendering the center of your universe to the One who alone deserves to be there. It means loving God above all else and your neighbor as yourself. It means experiencing the freedom that can only be found when God breaks your bondage to you! It means finally living for the one glory that is truly glorious, the glory of God. “Thy kingdom come,” words of surrender, words of protection, and words of grace that can only be prayed by those who’ve been delivered by the Redeemer from the kingdom that always leads to destruction and death, the kingdom of self.

[My biggest problem is myself. Everything I do has some element of me in it. I am self-oriented. I, I, I – I have an “I” problem, and am in desperate need of the “I” Doctor – the One who is able to heal my tendency torward me. Then I will see, then my “I’s” will receive the Light and be made new.]