There’s something that we don’t talk about much in the Church. It’s there, but we pretend that it is not. In fact, many of us hold it in our hands each week, but we carefully avoid addressing it. One reason that we don’t talk about it is that we don’t really understand it all that much. Another reason we don’t talk about it is that even the peek that we have had of it has made us scared of it. If we truly encountered it, it would change everything, and we like things as they are.
Because we have some idea of what it is, we water it down and make it easier. We try to reinterpret it and make it more comfortable for ourselves using the claims of contextualization and modern sensibility. We talk around it, but it remains there, waiting for someone to discover it and announce it.
What is this thing that we choose to ignore?
It is this truth: Following Christ changes everything. It is involves everything we are and everything we do. It demands everything we have.
Following Christ is not a hobby that we can put down. Following Christ is not a uniform that we can take off. Following Christ is not a diet that we can discontinue. It is not something that we do, but it is something that we have become.
Every possession we have, every relationship we have, every encounter with another human being, every minute we have in the day should be colored with the hues of our faith. Our faith should speak into how we spend even the smallest amount of money or time. Our faith should speak into how we talk with the annoying telemarketer. Our faith should speak into how we spend time at home, at work, or at the movies.
We know this to be true because we see Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, David, John, Isaiah, and a number of others telling us this in the Bible. Our relationship with God is meant to change everything about our lives. We are to live with a new purpose because, ultimately, we see the world in a different way as a result of our faith.
We don’t live this way to gain favor with God or even to keep him happy. We do it because we have already received favor from God through his grace. We do it to glorify God and make him known because we know him to be worthy of such glory. We do it because we know God to be trustworthy and he has asked us to live in the light of his truth. Living this way is not a denial of grace or a denial of the salvation that we have obtained through Christ. If giving God everything we have and every minute we live was a requirement for salvation then we would all be in trouble. It is not a requirement, but as you read the Bible, it does seem to be a goal. It is something that we strive for. It is something that we prioritize around even when it costs us. It is a lifestyle that we ask God to help us develop.
It is not an easy road. There is a reason that Jesus talked about the narrow path. There is a reason that Jesus did not seem so optimistic about the number of true believers.
In an era of the church where we want to appeal to people by making these things easier, the call to surrender everything has weakened to a call to surrender something. We celebrate people who are willing to give a whole five minutes a day to Bible reading and prayer. We ask people to just spend an hour a week serving God somewhere. We treat worship as something that lasts for about 60 minutes on Sundays. We redefine evangelism as being a good friend or as an invitation to church where the real ministry can happen. We redefine Bible study as a time where people talk about their lives rather than the Bible. We have created a culture where people only really need to be Christians for about four hours a week. Anything else would be a bonus.
Can you imagine telling Jesus that four hours is all that an American Christian can be expected to give him with all of our busy schedules?
So why don’t we talk more about all of this? Well, our churches would be smaller. Perhaps our ministers would be much less popular. Our lives would be less convenient. We would definitely be more reliant upon God to save people and bring them to a church because our message would not be all that user-friendly, unless you count the message of hope of eternal life and a relationship with the Creator of universe as something that is user-friendly.
But, what if we did live this way? What if there was a constant call to live for God? What if people had a longing to be in God’s word? What if our expectations for believers were higher? Would people struggle less with sin because they don’t have to be reminded about God each weekend? Would our churches in fact grow because people would take the responsibility to share their faith and their hope with everyone they encountered? What if we could stop teaching simple moralism or general self-help because obedience and healing are being addressed in a bigger calling to become like Christ in everything we do? What if our lives really reflected something bigger than ourselves?
What if?
Journey of Faith 