From Steve Ryan
The book Confessions, by St. Augustine, is universally considered to be a spiritual masterpiece. It is the story of one man’s journey and the challenges he faced on the road to conversion. Like many other people, Augustine had to overcome the desires of his flesh as well as intellectual objections before finally surrendering to Christ.
When Augustine did give his life to Christ, he served Him faithfully the rest of his life. In addition to the book Confessions, Augustine wrote numerous other books and sermons, and made himself available to those who wanted spiritual direction.
What makes this book so unique is how Augustine is continuously confessing Christ. Every sentence recognizes the majesty and sovereignty of God. As Augustine recounts his life, he sees the hand of God, even when he was outside His will. In his spiritual autobiography, Augustine realizes that God sees deep into his heart, and he has nowhere to hide.
Like Augustine, we can also continuously confess Christ. Continuously confessing Christ goes beyond saying the words Jesus is Lord over and over again. While there is some value in saying those words, the things we do often reveal hearts more than the things we say.
One way to measure if we are confessing Christ is to examine how we are handling money. When we get paid, do our first thoughts turn towards giving a tenth back to God? Do we consider how our money can be used to further the kingdom of God and reflect His purposes and His character?
Another way to measure if we are confessing Christ is to consider how we are spending our free time. Everyone needs some time to relax and unwind. When are relaxing and enjoying ourselves, is Christ honored in the way we are spending our time?
Augustine once said,”Order your soul; reduce your wants; associate in Christian community; obey the laws; trust in Providence.” Those words ring true just as much in our day as they did in his. No matter how far we travel down the road of faith, there will always be adjustments that need to be made, and correction to be received. However, if are confessing Christ in our words and actions, we can be confident the will of God is done in our lives.
