The plan for reconciliation.

For a long time I've wondered what I'd say to the version of myself that existed over the past year.
Tonight, I was reading a book by John Eldredge and felt the pull to put it down and start journaling.

Here's what I wrote (possibly with minor edits)

"The central of Christianity has to be Jesus, His death and resurrection. It's an inward transformation that goes to the outside.
If someone was to ask me how to overcome circumstance, to overcome the dullness of faith, the emptiness of a lack of it, or how to figure out how to "get back to God" (the word for that is reconciliation,) I'd first warn them:
It is very tempting to turn to music or books about Christianity in order to be reconciled. It's easy, too.

See, my problem was that I was looking for one thing to change about my life in order to make it better, and more full. I figured there was one book or song I could read or listen to that would make it all better. But a multi-faceted problem has to have a multi-faceted root.
I could have read the book about fasting by Derek Prince and fasted my guts out with no results.
I read Wild at Heart and attended a Men's Conference, and then tried to be the manliest man around, but that didn't work.
And what happened was the wearing down of my very soul. I was exhausted.
That's because we serve a huge God who requires surrender of the heart. And the only way we can give our hearts to Him is through Jesus Christ.
That's how He won our hearts. Remember that initial pull to Christ? That's your heart being captivated.
But see, Jesus was the one who paid the price. He is the one who ransomed us.
understand that Masculinity, or Fasting, or Spiritual Warfare, or Purity, or Miracles, they didn't die for our sins. They couldn't possibly do the work of Christ for us."
It'd be so easy if there was one book that did the trick, a book that said, "hey, God? I got this one, okay?" It'd be too easy. Just find something that captures your attention, who draws you to it.
Because that's the call of Christ. He has captured the heart of man. He has captured my heart, for one. That's why we're so crazy when we first get saved. But who says it has to get old?

Anyway, the point is this: you can't look to anything physical as your source of reconciliation.

Romans 5:11 says that we have reconciliation through Christ. Peter tells us that we are saved by something incorruptible, the blood of Jesus.
You see, men are corruptible. They can fall. Surely there is a Christian author who had written a book at one point and has now strayed from the faith.

We can't count on things. We have to count on Jesus. Because He's perfect. He paid the price. He became sin to overcome sin.

So what would I say to someone going through that stuff?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Truly turn your eyes upon Him. He honestly loves you just for who you are, not for what you can do for Him. when God looks at your record, He sees Jesus. And that is the price for it all.