hiking2christ

This is the point of encountering those things in your life you cannot handle—you are forced to turn to Christ. Did you really think you could be kind for the rest of your life without the inner help of Jesus? One day of kindness is a miracle. What about forgiving? Generous? Honest? Did you really think you could overcome your lifelong strongholds without some sort of Lazarus-like breakthrough? It simply isn’t going to happen—not without the life of Jesus in you.

This realization was an epiphany for me. Jesus has no intention of letting you become whole apart from his moment-to-moment presence and life within you.

-John Eldredge, Beautiful Outlaw, 235-236