It is no longer I.

The early Church Father named Augustine was born, in 354 AD, to a Christian mother and a pagan father, in North Africa. However, he turned his back on the faith of his mother and by the time he was eighteen years of age, he was already keeping a mistress. He had an excellent education and at only sixteen years of age, became a teacher of rhetoric (the skill, or art, of using language effectively) in the university of Carthage. He later taught in both Rome and Milan, and it was in the latter city that he began to search for "truth".

His mother also moved to Milan (his father had already died), and she prayed for him, and shared the Gospel message with him. The bishop of Milan at that time, was Aurelius Ambrose, a prominent and well-known theologian. Augustine had an  intellectual interest in Ambrose's sermons, and would later adapt much of this teaching into his own thinking. After the sermon, he would usually sit on a bench outside the church building, and wait for his mother. One day he heard what he thought was a child playing a sing-song game, "Take up and read." When he did not see anyone, he realised that what he had heard had a supernatural origin. He found a copy of the New Testament and opened it to Paul's letter to the Romans. Reading this changed his life, and he became a Christian - a follower of the Christ.

Augustine went on to become a bishop, and was to become influential in both the Roman and the Reformed traditions. He wrote an autobiography- his "Confessions" - and his other "magnum opus" was "The City of God against the pagans". This was his response to those who blamed the followers of the Christ, for the sack of Rome by the Goths, led by Alaric I.

However, soon after his profession of faith in the Lord Jesus, he was walking along a street in Milan. As he did so, he was accosted by a prostitute whom he had known intimately. She called out to him, but he ignored her, and kept on walking.

"Augustine!," she shouted, "it is I."

He replied: "Yes, but it is no longer I!"

Paul wrote: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Gal.2:20; emphasis added). I wonder, had those words come to Augustine's mind at that moment?

We can never satisfy our sinful nature. Indeed, trying to do so may even cause us to travel further and further away from the Saviour. But when we put on the Lord Jesus, the Christ, and walk in the power of His Spirit, so that it is no longer "I" who lives, but the Christ Who lives in me, then we may overcome that sinful nature that constantly pulls us down. When the tempter comes, may we have the strength to ignore him, and to keep walking in the way of the Lord. Let us "... walk by the Spirit, and ... not gratify the desires of the flesh." (Gal.5:16). That's the way that leads to heaven.

Take Time to 'Sharpen Your Axe'

There's an old story about a man who was strolling through the woods when he heard the sound of chopping. On investigating, he came across a man, perspiring profusely, as he worked at cutting down a large tree. 

"What are you doing?" asked the walker. 

The response was abrupt! "I'm cutting down this tree, can't you see?!"

"That's not what I meant", said the walker. " I can see what you're doing, but it looks as if you have been working very hard at the job. I really should have asked you how long you've spent doing so!"

"About two hours", came the reply. "But the axe isn't as sharp as I would like it to be."

"Then why don't you take some time to sharpen it?" asked the bemused walker. "That would enable you to complete the job more quickly, and more easily."

"I don't have the time to do that - I have to get this tree cut down!". 

The same wise advice is given by the writer of the First Testament book of Ecclesiastes: "If your axe is not sharp, you will need to be very strong to use it. If you are wise, you will make the axe's edge sharp again. That is how wisdom helps you to do things well." (10:10; Easy English Version).

In our own lives, there are many ways by which we may "sharpen the axe". It may involve additional training; further education - academic, practical, or both; reading helpful books; sharing with, and learning from friends, colleagues, or others.  In Proverbs 27:17, we are reminded that "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."

However, one method of "sharpening" is particularly beneficial, yet many of us are reluctant to employ it. It is "Rest". Have you heard the maxim: "More haste, less speed"? Sometimes working harder when depleted physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, actually diminishes results of our effort. Taking a rest - a short break, a brief nap, a day off, even a holiday - can restore energy, renew spirits, and revive optimism.

There are those who seem to think that Almighty God demands continual activity from His people. However, when we read the Scriptures, we discover that there a lot that refers to the importance of rest. Indeed, it starts at the very beginning. In Genesis 1 we read the record of the creation. Then, in Gen.2: 2-3, we read: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." (emphasis added). This is repeated in the giving of the Ten Words (Commandments): "... in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it." (emphasis added).

An earlier commandment states: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." This is not, as some think, a restriction, because the Lord Jesus declared: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath;" (Mark 2:27). To Father God, rest is not only good, but essential for fruitful, productive living.

When we look at the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, we see the same thing as, in spite of the demands being made upon Him, He often broke away from the crowds and "... withdrew to the wilderness and prayed." (Lk.5:16).

Peter, in his first letter, tells his readers: "... the Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." (2:21). Is it unreasonable to conclude that making certain to get sufficient rest would be one way by which we might "follow in His steps."?

So, how sharp is your axe?!