God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
We must face the fact that many today are notoriously careless in their living. This attitude finds its way into the church. We have liberty, we have money, we live in comparative luxury. As a result, discipline practically has disappeared. What would a violin solo sound like if the strings on the musician's instrument were all hanging loose, not stretched tight, not 'disciplined?
In one sense saving faith is the easiest thing in the world – as easy as being clay in the potter’s hands. But in another sense it is the hardest thing in the world, because human clay hates being shaped and formed by Christ so that He gets all the glory for what we become.