i'm a sinner who has been saved by a loving, merciful God. i'm humbled by the fact that He chose to allow His Son to be the object of His wrath. wrath towards the sin of all eternity. instead of us! the very ones who choose the world over their Creator. i have wasted 42 years of my life playing church. pretending to be in love with Christ when in reality i've been more in love with myself. sure, i know every story in the bible, i've helped lead worship, i've taught bible study, know every word to every hymn, i've done it all. but i missed it. i missed the true understanding of what it's like to really love Christ. to really experience a personal relationship with him. i've never doubted my faith. i've doubted MY ability to truly experience Christ. until recently, when i came face to face with the realization that it's not about the building we call church, it's not about the people we call "the church", it's not about our style of worship, it's not about the pastor, it's not about me, it's not about you, it's not even about which pew you sit on. it's about HIM. it's about unselfish love. it's about Grace. it's about obedience. that's what i've begun to experience.
sounds simple, huh? but, how many people are in churches all over the world who are just like me? how many "Christians" are in churches all over the world who are just like me? they put on their Sunday face, dress their best, go to church, sing a few songs, sway to the music, pretend to listen to the sermon, and leave. no different than when they walked in. oh, they read their bible, occasionally. they pray, most days. they may even teach a class or sing in the choir. they know how to play the game. really, they've been doing it most of their life. they surround themselves with people who are just like them. as long as their life is comfortable and convenient, then everything is o.k. they are the objects of God's blessings, right? living the American dream. but, what about the world around them?
let's look at Jesus. besides, we're called to be like him, right? now, here's someone whose life was different. He had no wealth, no home. He didn't drive the latest donkey. He slept most nights in a borrowed bed. He often spent His days traveling in the dust and dirt. He regularly associated with the outcast, the down trodden, the poor, the needy, the sick, the hurting, and the lost. He was despised, rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief, unjustly condemned, oppressed, crushed, beaten, whipped, led like a lamb to slaughter, pierced, buried like a criminal, and put in a rich man's grave. He was struck down for our rebellion. why? because He deeply loves us! the very ones who rejected Him. Jesus Christ, the son of God, our Savior, loves us so much that He was willing to take God's wrath toward our sin and the sin of all eternity and die. doesn't exactly sound like the American dream does it? do you get it? His life wasn't measured by wealth and material possessions, but by souls. Lost, hurting, needy, sick, poor, thirsty, hungry, naked souls.
Matthew 25:35-36, paints a clear picture of what it's like to be like Christ, "I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me...when you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me." you see, Jesus understood that in order for Him to capture the souls of the lost, he must first meet their basic needs. this is what it's like to be like Jesus. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed..." ultimately, our lives will not be measured by our worldly possessions, but how much we were like Christ.
Romans 10:14 says, "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?" this question is answered in Matthew 28:19, "Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." what does this mean to us? to those of us who call themselves Believers, here's what it means, God's expectation: go, meet needs, and tell. God's promise: He will be with you always.
This is the concept of geaux1014:
why "geaux" instead of "go" - "do not conform to the world, but be transformed..." Romans 12:2. be different. be like Christ.
1014 - Romans 10:14, "But how can they call on him to save them unless...someone tells them?"
who will geaux?
