J.C. Ryle, speaking to a group of pastors, once said the following: “Above all, let us never forget the advice which Whitefield gave in one of his letters: let us ‘make much of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ There are many things of which we may easily make too much in our ministry, give them too much attention, think about them too much. But we can never make too much of Christ.”
His words remind one of the Apostle Paul’s words: “I … did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (I Corinthians 2:1-2, ESV) They are very easily applied to the preaching of a sermon. But how about in everyday life? What does it mean to “make much of Christ” in the midst of our ordinary routines?
A study I just did of Colossians, using Calvin’s commentary on the book, caused me to ask this question. I began examining my own life. Do I truly make much of Christ as I go about my day? Or do I cater to my own selfishness? Do I make much of Christ in conversations with others? Or am I tempted to make much of myself? (“Toot my own horn,” as my dad used to say.)
Here are some of the words from Calvin that woke me up:
“…there is nothing that Satan so much endeavors to accomplish as to [obscure] Christ, because he knows, that by this means the way is opened up for every kind of falsehood. This, therefore, is the only means of retaining, as well as restoring pure doctrine — to place Christ before the view such as he is with all his blessings, that his excellence may be truly perceived.”
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We must see Christ as He is, and glorify Him daily. When we stop making much of Christ, treating him as our most important treasure and goal, our lives disintegrate. I’ve been mulling over that concept for the past few weeks, thinking about how I can glorify Christ more in my everyday life. Although I have no real concept of how to honor Him as I should, I can take small steps toward that goal. I asked a few writers to join me in sharing ways that they attempt to make much of Christ during the mundane routines of everyday life.
Making Much of Christ in Everyday Life
1. Begin each day with worship.
Photo by Patrick Fore.
“Preach the gospel to yourself daily,” I read in CJ Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life (a favorite!) right before heading to Honduras as a volunteer. All summer long, I would wake up and do that. Thank you, Lord, for calling me from my sin in spite of my lack of desire for you. You are great and worthy of praise. Thank you for shedding your blood in my place. I don’t deserve to be judged as if I had lived the perfect life you did, but I’m so grateful. I need to remind myself to do this regularly, to be overwhelmed by the perfection and sufferings of Christ each day. Read the Bible, pray–and WORSHIP the holy God.
2. Focus on Christ as a family.
Chelsea Stanley from Daughter Redeemed shares how she does this with her kids:
“One thing I love to do is start each morning out with my kids in prayer. We begin by praising God for who he is, so I’ll say “God, you are so…” and they’ll shout out “Great!” or “Powerful!” Then, we thank him for what Christ has done for us and all that He’s given us. Sometimes, we’ll confess sin. And we always end by asking for God’s help to listen to Mommy and Daddy right away, with no grumbles, and to share and take care. It helps us all focus our minds and hearts on Christ as we set about our day.”
3. Use every moment for Christ’s glory.
Photo by Abigail Keenan.
For example, Heather Pace of Truth4Women gives the following tips for using those long hours in the car:
“One way I seek to seize each day is by using drive time. There are so many quality resources (like audio books, or audio bibles, or verses put to music) that can saturate our minds (and our kids’ minds) with eternal things. Most recently, we have been listening to missionary biographies from the “Christian Heroes Then and Now” series. We end up learning about far more than the adventures of missionaries — we learn that living for Jesus is exciting! We learn that our God is a big God, and does some amazing things! We learn that sacrificing for Christ is a worthy way to spend a life! My favorite part is the regular conversations that spring from these biographies, which all come back to the basic fact that Jesus is worth making much of!”
4. Take every thought captive.
La’Shay Crayton, newlywed and grad student living in New York City, says the battle is in keeping our thoughts in check.
“My spiritual mom has taught me a valuable lesson. That lesson is to immediately take my thoughts captive. I do this [with] the following steps…
- As soon as you wake up, prioritize God by giving thanks.
- Don’t be passive with your thoughts. When negative, non-God honoring thoughts enter your mind quickly combat [them] with what the word of God says.
- Give God your day. It’s His and it is to be used for His glory. This blows the to-do-list out of the water.
- Look to God when the day doesn’t go your way; you can shift your day at any point. Take every negative thought captive.”
(La’Shay and I providentially met in Houston ONCE and since then have kept our friendship strong, walking with each other through the journeys of meeting and marrying our husbands. Look for a future blog post with the rest of what La’Shay had to share, or visit her website, Living Well and Living Well Loved.)
5. Memorize Scripture.
Recently, Scripture memorization has been a great blessing to me, as God’s Word fills my heart and helps me seek to make much of Christ instead of myself. Why memorize Scripture? I’ll let Psalm 119:9-11 answer that question.
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Maintaining A Lifestyle Dedicated to Making Much of Christ
Finally, I asked for advice from Mrs. Marie Bennett, a godly woman (and my former Sunday school teacher) who glorifies Christ in so many ways. Her children are already grown and have children of their own, so she has “fought the good fight” as a mother. I often turn to her when I need wise counsel.
Here is what Mrs. Marie had to say:
I can think of 3 ways I have endeavored to do by His grace to give Christ first place in my life. I believe that every true Christian WILL LOVE the LORD and grow in that love through the years–and that MUST include 1) loving His Word, 2) loving His church for which He died, and 3) speaking with Him and about Him to others each day. His WORD is truth (John 17).
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Love God’s Word.
…I have made it a priority to be in His Word daily (almost without fail) and learn from Him as I read and study it and as the Holy Spirit teaches me who Jesus is, and who I am, and what He desires/requires of me as His child. How can I ignore His Word and still say He is my LORD? I have also found that memorizing His Word has drawn me closer to Him in the last 10-12 years more than any other spiritual discipline. And as I have grown in my love for Him through through the years by spending time in His Word, it has made it much easier for me to make sure I keep Him #1 in my life.
Photo by Neon Brand.
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Be faithful to God’s church.
The second way to give the LORD honor in [a] practical way is to be faithful to His church–in attendance, financial support, and service to Christ. No matter what difficulty or trial has come in my life, I thank Him for keeping Russ [her husband] and me faithfully engaged in our local church’s ministry. That is exactly when I need to hear His Word taught and preached the most–when I am going through a hard time! But, ironically, that is also exactly when many Christians are most tempted to be “forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, [instead of] …encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25). How can I “make much of Christ” when I don’t “make much of His church” [which He loved and] for which He died (Eph.5:25)… By worshipping Christ together in songs and prayers, and hearing and heeding His Word preached I give honor to Christ as well as gain courage and strength to endure what He has allowed to come into my life last week or will come into my life this week or next.
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Speak with and about Jesus daily.
And thirdly, an important practice for me through the years has been to speak about Jesus often in our home–so that our sons (and Russ) would know Jesus is first place in my life–every day, not just on Sunday! From the time our sons were very little and throughout their teen years, Russ & I would often speak to them of the LORD just as we would talk to and about each other all through the day. It became just a natural thing for us to do–and it reinforced to them and each other how much we loved Jesus and that He was the most important one in our lives.
Make Much of Christ–Because You Are His Disciple
Photo by Elijah Hail.
Just like a sunflower follows the path of the sun across the sky, so also our lives should follow in Christ’s footsteps. We are disciples, and our every thought should be to bring honor to our Master. His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Let us learn to delight in Him, make much of Him daily, and leave behind all worldly distractions.
Is there ever a hard-and-fast “how to make much of Christ” rule? The Scripture doesn’t tell us what our daily schedule is to look like. But we can follow the example of those (like Mrs. Marie) who have sought to glorify Christ with their whole lives. God is faithful, even when we are not. And we can trust that when we desire that our lives bring God more glory, He will make that happen.