I don't understand why we as Christians or even as churches feel entitled to the gospel, or the fruits of it's growth. What I mean by that is simply this:
"We are sinful, fallen, carnal people who have been redeemed and released by a graceful and merciful Savior"
So why do we try to pass stuff off as our own? I was in Barnes and Nobel last night looking for the sequel to Pagan Christianity (great book!) and I was amazed at the amount of "Do it my way" books that were out there. "3 Steps to This Bobble" and "Unleash Your Inner Whoosie-What Now" were all over the place. Now, granted, I have no problem with learning from those who are more mature or educated than I am, but please, don't make the mistake of thinking that you are it.
I mention these two instances because, to me, they illustrate the arrogance and misguided zeal that many Christians and sadly churches have today...
1. Jesus died to give us the power and ability to overcome sin and commune with God Himself.
Yet, sadly, we have taken the power He gave us and have tried to warp it and bend it to our own will and purpose to benefit our wants and desires.
2. Jesus died to unite all men under His name
Yet, sadly, we have disjointed and fragmented ourselves into a bunch of small factions that are at odds with one another and often malign or bad mouth one another.
3. Jesus died for the people who didn't know Him too.
This might be the one that is closest to my heart. Jesus died for EVERYONE. Yet, sadly, we seem to think (or at least act) like Jesus only sacrificed Himself for those who are in church on Sunday morning...
May we never get further down this road of power-hungry, disjointed, selfish faith so that we almost treat the King of Kings and Lord of Lords like a toy that we are unwilling to share.
- Just a thought.
Posts
2 comments:
Wow. We are like that. The gift of God was meant to be shared. Not lorded over, allowing others to see pieces of it. We have forgotten how freeing it is to share the gospel. Maybe that's our problem, we haven't been doing the job we were meant to do, so instead we horde what we have not knowing if it was shared that it would be multiplied.
This one makes me think . . . Growing up in the Bible Belt really puts a different, um, "light" on Christianity. It's almost like a cloak of power for a person to stand up and say they're a Christian and be a minister or a gospel singer -- you know what I'm talking about. But really Christianity is about the average person accepting the love of Christ and sharing that love with others. It's not something to put out on display like a championship trophy -- it's our life and it's a gift and we did absolutely nothing to deserve it. So why do we act like we're so special because of it -- and the sinner next to us is so unworthy? Pretty deep small talk, Billiam.
Post a Comment