It's a cloudy day here in Lexington. It's cold, and there's a threat of rain (as there seems to be a good portion of the time).
On days like today it's easy to get caught up in negativity and despair, especially if things aren't going well for you at the moment.
So if that's you today, then for you I am writing a simple reminder:
That even in the gloom, the obscurity...when things seem bleak...when the fog gets heavy and the shadow grows thick and you begin to wonder if the sun ever will shine again...when you're struggling or when you feel like you're in the dark...
...He is there to comfort us.
He is there to love on us, to pick us up when we trip on our own feet, to put a bandage on our wounds when someone pushes us down.
He's our Daddy. But He's also God.
In the words of Jars of Clay: "It seems too easy to call you 'Savior,' not close enough to call you 'God.'"
It can be hard for us to understand that the Creator of the universe loves us so deeply, craves us so intimately. It's hard for us to understand because we're human. We're limited. We're finite.
But because of who He is, God has a greater capacity to love than we can ever comprehend.
And this God who loves us is an awesome God.
He's a powerful God.
He's an all-knowing God.
He's a merciful God.
And He loves us without condition and without limitation.
If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
-Mark 13:36, NIV
"We need to read the Bible as a call to action, because that's what so much of it is."
Yes, I'm quoting myself. (Is that allowed?)
That's from my entry "Back to the Basics." I posted that last Wednesday. And just a couple days later, as I read my Bible, I found myself face-to-face with that reality.
Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:11-14, ESV)
This is exactly the kind of call to action I was talking about.
This is exactly what Jesus calls us to do, how He calls us to live, when we submit our lives to Him.
This is exactly the kind of way we should live on a daily basis. When we "put on" the Lord, we are walking with Him, living intimately with Him. Christlike actions flow naturally from a close fellowship with the Lord.
But in looking at the call of how to live, let's not overlook the sense of urgency in this passage - because it should also serve as a wake-up call for our lives.
1 Thessalonians (also written by Paul) has a passage that correlates perfectly with the one from Romans we looked at just a moment ago.
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:2-8, ESV)
The motifs of sleep, day/light and night/darkness are all present in both passages, as is the command to "put on" Christ.
Jesus has promised to return, and He'll be back sooner rather than later. Just look around us at all the signs that we are living in the latter days.
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:10-11, ESV)
The passage from Romans tells us that every day we get closer and closer to the day of Christ's return. The moon is on its descent. The Son is on the horizon.
It's important that we stop fooling around and acting like hooligans, hiding behind the excuse that we have plenty of time to get to work. Don't forget the story that Jesus tells in Mark 13.
"Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning—lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” (Mark 13:33-36, ESV)
The time to get serious is now. Now is the time for us to get - and remain - vigilant, to live squarely in the light so that we can be beacons that reach into the darkest areas.
But Christians as a whole are asleep.
We've gotten lax. We've allowed our government over the years to slowly chip away at our Christian foundation. And now we find eroding beneath our feet the society envisioned by our Founding Fathers (one based on Judeo-Christian values), without the momentum to stop it.
We've allowed society to shake us, and we've compromised our values. What happened to the sanctity of marriage? What happened to the sanctity of life? We've traded our staunch stances against the farce made of marriage when two members of the same sex are wed and the atrocity of killing an unborn child, for campaigns against using too much paper or leaving the lights on too long.
When will we return to our roots in Christ? When will we stand up and live boldly for Him, letting others see His light shining through us?
We as Christians are asleep, and we have been lulled to sleep by a false sense of peace and security that was engineered and executed with the sole purpose of lulling us to sleep.
What will it take to wake us up?
How many earth-shattering rumblings? How many floods? How many fiery volcanic eruptions? How many devastating forest fires? How many wars among nations? How many abominations and blasphemies against Christ and persecutions of the Church before Jesus returns to rescue His people?
Salvation is near. The night is far gone. The day is at hand.
It's time to wake up, to turn on the light we're going to live in, and to put on Christ. Because if we don't, what will we miss while we are sleeping?
neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."
- Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV
"If you want to make God laugh, then tell Him your plans."
That's what they say, at least. (Ah, the infamous "they.")
But actually there's a ton of truth to that. Everyone has had at least six times in their lives where God's plan for them was something other than what they thought it would be or should be, where we've thought that our timetables for certain things were better than God's timetables. (And since God lives outside of time, how is it even fair that He gets to decide when things happen? Ugh!)
Ahhh...We think we're so smart sometimes, don't we?
We have minds, and we looove to use them. I'm the kind of person who in the middle of a conversation or in the middle of a task can find myself lost in my thoughts, taking a train to who knows where...all I know is that I have zoned the heck out. In my little day dreams I often find myself pondering the future, planning things out, figuring things out in my own little world. And this can get me into trouble when it comes to yielding my will to His.
God's plans aren't ours. His are higher.
On more than one occasion, through different circumstances, I've come to learn this firsthand. I've come to realize that nothing we do can make God's plans our plans, no matter how hard we try. I've wanted so badly for this sometimes that I have stayed up at night praying that He would fit His plans into mine, that His timing for things would sync up with mine. And I knew that this was wrong, that I selfishly was praying for my will instead of His - but, to be honest, I could not pray sincerely for His.
God's plans aren't ours. His are higher. But sometimes this can be hard - really hard - to grasp. And sometimes our circumstances can be so painful and troubling that we truly wonder whether God really does have our best intentions at heart.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, NIV)
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. (Hebrews 10:23, NLT)
Things in my life aren't always going to be peachy keen. But I know that God, in His infinite wisdom, has a plan for my life that will prosper me, not harm me. That, in His love, He gives me a future - and that fact itself can give me hope. Because He does indeed have a plan for me. And God's plan isn't mine. His is higher.
Just last night (after I already had planned out today's blog entry, actually) Reuben Morgan, one of the worship leaders at Hillsong Church, tweeted this:
"God is not small enough to fit into our grandest plans>> we need to follow His."
And that brings us back to the words from Isaiah 55:8-9.
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9, NLT)
Our God is H U G E. And he's Holy. That's why He deserves our praise, worship, adoration - that's why it's so awesome that, even in His Glory, He desires and pursues a relationship with us. That's why God's plans (which aren't ours, by the way) are higher than ours ever could be.
And that's why, when I begin to doubt, when I begin to think that maybe my way sounds a little better than His...that maybe I've got everything figured out and He should just listen to me...
Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? (Romans 11:33-34)
...that's when it's important to take a step back,
to remember who I am,
to remember who He is,
(to remember that God's plans aren't mine - His are higher,)
to humble myself before the throne,
and ask...
My favorite books in the Bible are those written by Paul.
I especially like Philippians and Ephesians.
Romans is good, too, though. And my Bible reading plan has me reading through Romans right now. Last night I read through Romans 10, and some things hit me that I would like to touch on today.
One reason the book of Romans is so great to read is because it plays such a large role when it comes to the Christian theology of salvation. (Does "the Romans Road" ring any bells?) Many verses from Romans have become household recitations or quotable quotes.
And that can be a problem.
When the familiar becomes commonplace, it loses its effectiveness. We hear many of these verses recited to us without it even registering their meaning or importance.
Maybe you don't fall into this generalization. I hope you don't. But I'm saying it's an easy trap to fall into, so we need to stay vigilant not to let God's Living Word become just another text that we skim or read for the sake of reading or highlight when we read something of good literary quality.
We need to read the Bible as a call to action, because that's what so much of it is.
That digression finally leads me to the original point I was trying to make with this blog entry. So let's get back to Romans.
I hope you're not expecting some profound, jaw-dropping, ground-breaking revelation today. Because today I want to go back to the basics a little bit. Here's some simple stuff I thought about when I was reading through Romans 10 last night.
First, an important foundation of the Christian faith relies on the fact that salvation is not by works, but by faith. Humans are fallible creatures, and thanks be to God that He loved us enough to die for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8)! He was our atoning sacrifice. Our salvation does not come from perfectly following the law, but from a belief in Christ.
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. (Romans 9:16, NIV)
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:4, ESV)
For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. (Romans 10:10, NLT)
When you put your faith in Christ, He is the fulfillment of the law. He's our buffer. His blood covers us and our feeble attempts at obeying the law. And ok, so everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Right. We know that. And that's great news! But wait...we as Christians have a role to play in the lost turning to Christ.
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? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!" (Romans 10:14-15, NLT)
Here's a great note about this verse from my ESV Study Bible:
"With a series of rhetorical questions, Paul considers the chain of events necessary for a person to be saved. ... The logic of these verses is clear: (1) People will call on Jesus to save them only if they believe he can do so; (2) belief in Christ cannot exist without knowledge about him; (3) one hears about Christ only when someone proclaims the saving message; and (4) the message about Christ will not be proclaimed unless someone is sent by God to do so. That is why Paul was so urgent about spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, for he believed that the only way to be saved was to hear and believe in the gospel."
Paul says at the beginning of chapter 10 that it is his "heart's desire...that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).
When we're Christians, when we're loving others the way we should, it will be our heart's desire as well. And so we need to make our feet swift to carry His message to all those who have not heard.
We live in a dangerous world, and it's not getting any safer. We live amid earthquakes and tsunamis, tornadoes and hurricanes, fires and floods, oppression and rebellion, rape and murder. Both natural and manmade disasters around the world define the nightly newscast.
Spreading the Gospel of Jesus is a matter of life and death - not for now, but forever.
I am convinced that God puts certain people in our lives for the sole purpose of testing us and our patience.
Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. We all have those people that make us cringe as soon as they walk in the room. It's a continual test when you're around them.
As an R.A., I get to deal with people - a lot of people - on a regular (read "non-stop") basis. This is both a blessing and a curse. A lot of the people I deal with are easy to handle, and I enjoy being around them. Others...not so much. And yet it is my job responsibility to be as kind as possible to all of these people, and to smile while I'm doing it. (Even if I'm screaming on the inside.)
But certain people just really push our buttons. Whether they're doing it knowingly or unknowingly, sometimes they really can be hard to handle.
I can think of a few people in particular who live in my dorm that I have a really hard time dealing with and being around. When I see them, my demeanor instantly hardens. I struggle to be kind, and if at all possible I avoid them like the avian bird flu. (Respirator mask and all.)
But I shouldn't be like that.
In fact, these are the people I should be reaching out to the most.
As a human, though, it's difficult for me to do so. So I need to pray continually for strength and for awareness so I will know when I'm doing this (and therefore kick myself in the pants). Because if it were up to me, I'd stay far. far. away.
Here's the kicker: these very difficult people know that my good friends and I are Christians. They watch us, they're aware of our tacit claims to be different, which (hopefully) are shown through our lifestyles.
When we fail in this regard, we hurt not only these people, but we hurt the chances that they will be swept up in a love affair with the One who so graciously has saved us from our sins.
After all, when we're not acting any differently than they do, what can they assume about Christianity? They doubtless ask themselves the question of "What's the benefit?" After all, when we portray Christianity as a set of rules to follow instead of a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, combined with our actions that sometimes show we act no differently and show no more love than a non-Christian...what's enticing about that? If the lost only see our corrupted version of "religion" rather than the relationship it should be, we are not furthering the Kingdom. We're proving to be obstacles when in fact we should be assets.
I'm not saying we have to hang out with these difficult people all the time - but I am saying that when we are around these people, we (difficult as it may be) need to love them as Christ loves them...as Christ loves us.
I'm not living a life in isolation. And so life often calls for endurance, even - or maybe especially - in the face of irritation.
God puts me in situations and in front of people who need to see Jesus in my actions, who need to see His love in my words, who need to see that a true relationship with the Lord indeed is utterly, completely and pervasively transformative. To this end, I need at all times to be on guard and ensure that when I'm tested by tiresome or pesky people - when I'm tempted to respond with a stiff arm instead of a warm heart - that I respond with the furious, all-embracing love of Christ we talked about yesterday.
It can be a tall task, and a very daunting one. But if I gird myself with Christ, then it is a very winnable battle.
I love watching movies. Granted, there are a lot that I haven't seen that I probably should've (you know, pop culture staples like The Sandlot, Jurassic Park, etc.), but that doesn't take away from the fact that I do indeed enjoy a good movie. And while I'm not one to just sit and watch the History Channel, I also do enjoy a good documentary every once in awhile. (If it's a topic that interests me, that is. For example: baseball, politics, the Civil War, Taylor Swift...)
Recently I watched a documentary that someone recommended to me. Called "Furious Love," this documentary chronicles a team of believers traveling the globe in order to spread the love of Christ by demonstrating it to the lost. They encounter the demon-possessed in Africa, prostitutes in Thailand, witches in Salem and more, all in an effort to combat the cover of darkness by shining God's Light.
I'll admit, some things in the film made me uncomfortable, but that doesn't make the things that happen in it any less real. I think one reason some of these things made me uncomfortable is because I wasn't used to seeing things like that done.
Let me tell you, it is absolutely amazing to see God work in unfathomable ways. I highly encourage you to watch this documentary.
But seeing this film also woke me up to the reality that in a lot of ways our Americanized version of Christianity is watered down. Like politics, certain things in it are diluted to make it more palatable to the mainstream.
So many times the American Church is oblivious to many things going on around us, outside of our own comfortable little "Christian bubbles." Things seem great in our own little personal, pious world...but if we were to venture out into the darkness, we would find a decaying world in desperate need of a Savior. And so many times these dying souls are begging to hear the name of Jesus, yet we are perfectly content with sitting in the pews, hands in our pockets, humming along to "Amazing Grace."
If God's grace is so amazing (which it is!) then why aren't we sharing it with everybody with whom we come into contact?
I talked about the movie making me uncomfortable at times - this very same "comfort factor" has a lot to do with the problem of Christians and our churches failing to reach out in areas that make us a little queasy inside. As a general rule, we're afraid to step outside our comfort zones when it comes to anything - but especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
And Satan loves it that way.
It would be easy to assume that Evil triumphs in spiritual warfare, given that sin is so rampant and so alluring, and given that we as Christ's warriors are so feeble. We fail. We're scared. We're weak.
But (aha!) we are not the warriors after all. God is the warrior. And he fights with love. And God's love isn't weak.
In fact, the Bible tells us in Romans 5:8:
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)
God's love is so strong, so potent, that he sent his Son to die for us, while we were still sinners. While we were in darkness, God sacrificed his Son so we could have Light. While we were wallowing in the mire, content with our dirty deeds, God allowed his Son to die so we could be washed clean, perfectly purified in His blood.
"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, NLT)
That's the core of the Gospel. That's the heart and soul of salvation.
We say we know that's true, but do we mean it? Do we believe it? Do we show it?
One of the pastors in the film says that we have made Christianity about meeting requirements. But that's not the message of the Gospel.
What "Furious Love" makes so clear is the fact that it is not up to us as humans to change someone (or even ourselves!), to make him or her (or even ourselves!) "acceptable" in God's sight. It is our duty - and our privilege! - to show to them and share with them the love of Christ. If and when they accept Christ, He will do the changing.
Robby Dawkins, one of the pastors in the film, explains it this way:
"[God says,] 'Love Me, and I'll change you. Love Me, and I'll do all the hard stuff. I just want you coming after Me.'"
We have missed the point. Many times we make Christianity out to be exactly what the legalists of Jesus' time did. We forget about God's grace; we forget that God is Love; we forget that showing this love to others is vitally important to Jesus' message.
We as Christians - we as literal "little Christ"s - should be instrumentsof His love. We should be bearers of His torch and carry it fearlessly to the darkest corners of our world, our country, our state, our city, our neighborhood, our workplace, our home.
God is love. And it is our responsibility to show that He is love - because there are so many people out there who don't know it.
We each need to live a life that overflows with a love for others that is crazy, consuming, incomprehensible, unconditional, invincible and burning. We need to love others with all that we have in order to show all that He is, capturing the urgency of the task for which God has commissioned all of us.
We need to love fully. fervently. freely. fearlessly....and furiously.
This clip features one of my favorite parts from "Furious Love."
Have you ever heard someone say, "Things just aren't made like they used to be" or "People just don't take pride in their work like they used to"? If you've ever owned something - anything - or dealt with someone at a customer service desk or the DMV, you know that's the case (even if you don't know firsthand how things "used to be" I think this is a fair assumption - there's plenty of room for improvement nowadays.)
But regardless of whether that broad generalization is or isn't true, something is: there's a problem in society today. It could be called not "taking pride in your work," or a "lack of work ethic," or anything. Call it what you want. People today do the bare minimum to get by.
This can be a problem in itself.
The real problem, though, lies in people not doing things with the mindset of glorifying God in/by/through it. Because this has eternal repercussions.
I can see how people who aren't Christians might have a hard time doing their best in everything they do. Who are they trying to please? If a task is insignificant, or if no one is watching, or if no one cares, or if it's just difficult and we don't feel like doing it...then what is the catalyst? What's the impetus? What pushes us to do our absolute best if everything seems so...purposeless?
My purpose, identity and motivation lie in Jesus Christ alone.
And if you're a Christian you can take comfort in the fact that yours do, too.
I'm thankful to have His love in my heart because He gives me a reason to do my best in everything I do. I'm not trying to please myself, my parents, my professors or my friends. I'm doing everything to please a higher authority. This higher authority just happens to be the One who created me with the goal of pleasing Him. (Coincidence? I think not.)
As Christians, every single thing we do can be an act of worship. And it should be. We talked yesterday about how God is deserving of our praise and worship. ("I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.")
Darlene Zschech said that worship is our lives being poured out to our Savior.
The sooner we understand that and apply it to our lives and actions, the better off we will be.
Our eyes truly will be opened when we realize that worship is not something we only experience on Sundays, when we're "feeling it," when we're pleased with the song selection in church and we get goosebumps on the back of our necks, when we pause to take Communion.
That can be worship - but that also is a gross oversimplification of what worship is and how we can do it.
Worship is basking in His glory not only when the lights are dimmed in the sanctuary, but when the sun rises and when it sets...when I'm woken up at 4 a.m. because I have to help a drunk person get to bed safely...when I'm up all night studying for an exam in a class that all I "need" is a C to pass...(See the trend here? Lack of sleep. But anyway.)...when on a snowy and cold morning I'm walking to attend one of my classes - and it doesn't even take attendance...
Worship leader Daniel Bashta has an EP called "My Worship in Motion." I love that title. It perfectly displays the fact that worship is something we put into action, something we can take to the streets. It's something that God has called us to take to the streets - to every street.
What's holding us back? It's time to put one foot in front of the other. It's time to worship God in everything we do, and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the darkest corners of the earth - through our actions and our words.
If we go with this mentality through the mundane and routine actions that constitute much of our daily schedule, then a desire to spread His love to others will follow.
We need to worship our Lord in and through every moment of every day of every season in every year. One day at a time. One breath at a time.
Imagine the revolution that would take place in our world if every single Christian rose up and acted with the primary motivation and sole purpose of worshiping Christ, in everything and with everything.
As he was drawing near - already on the way down the Mount of Olives - the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."
He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent,
the very stones would cry out.
- Luke 19:37-40 (ESV)
Do you ever pause just to think how awesome God is?
If you don't, then you should - so stop and read Psalm 104 right now. Maybe that'll change your mind.
If you do, then great! But stop and read Psalm 104 right now anyway.
(Don't be lazy. If you don't have a Bible nearby, then type it into Google, or go to biblegateway.com)
Psalm 104 is one of my favorite psalms. I love reading it because it highlights so many things that God does that we take for granted - the springs gushing forth in the valleys (v.10), the grass growing for the livestock and plants (v.14), teaching the sun when to set (v.19)...He thought of it all! And, unlike the Deistic, clockmaker image of God, in which the Creator winds up the world like a giant machine and then lets it go, our God is active even in the seemingly insignificant.
The point is, the Lord deserves our praise. But here's the deal - he deserves our praise for who He is, not for what He does.
This is an important distinction - it is easy for us to praise Him when things are going well, but it's also easy for us to question Him when things aren't going so well. Questioning Him is okay - but we should praise Him nonetheless.
Even when Job loses everything, he says:
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (Job 1:21, ESV)
In Luke, Jesus tells the Pharisees that if his disciples don't praise him, then the rocks will cry out in worship. All of God's creation was made with the purpose of praising, adoring, worshiping, exulting in and exalting His name.
Chris Rice's song "And Your Praise Goes On" gives us a perfect example of this:
The moon is high and the sunset fades
The lullabies have all been sung
We're tucking in another day
And stars appear now one by one
But the stillness moves and the silence yields
And not a single beat is lost
You can hear the chorus in the fields
Taking up where we left off
And Your praise goes on, rising to Your throne
Where You guard us while we dream
Past the stars they fly, Your praises fill the sky
Till You wake us with the dawn
And Your praise goes on
Now bring your warmth, O morning sun
Chase the stars and the moon away
And wake us with your brightest song
And add our voice to your refrain
Now rise up, everything that lives!
Flap your wings and leap for joy!
O forest, lift your arms and sway!
Clap your hands, you ocean waves!
And Your praise goes on, rising to Your throne
Where You bless our toil and play
Through the clouds they rise, Your praises fill the skies
Till the setting of the sun
And Your praise goes on
And when my final breath You lend
I'll thank You for the life You gave
But that won't mean the praises end
Cause I won't be silenced by the grave!
And Your praise goes on
I'll be running to Your throne
With every nation, tribe and tongue
To Your arms I'll fly
I'll gaze into Your eyes
Then I'll know as I am known
And Your praise goes on
And Your praise goes on
And Your praise goes on
All of creation is crying out to praise Him. Join in the chorus.
“If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us
when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”
– Acts 11:17
Years ago W.W.J.D. bracelets were all the rage. As a kid I had a navy blue one that I wore. I stopped wearing it for awhile, then a few years back I started wearing it again until it broke last summer. (I went out and bought a new one, which is a permanent fixture on my wrist.)
I also have an ichthus (think “Jesus fish”) on the back of my car.
And I wear a cross around my neck, a constant reminder of the sacrifice my Savior made for me.
I tell you these things not to make you believe – incorrectly – that I’m some kind of super-Christian, or that every Christian should wear or display these things. In fact, I’m doing it to point out the opposite, to preface a confession I have to make.
Lean in close, please. (I’m ashamed to speak too loudly.)
Sometimes I wish I didn’t wear a bracelet or necklace as a symbol of Christ – because, honestly, there are times that the last thing I want to be is Christ-like.
Especially when I’m driving. I don’t get mad very easily, but you can throw my regular temperament right out the window when I get behind the wheel. I’m a little prone to road rage, and there are times where I’ll honk or turn on my high beams and then promptly ask for forgiveness when I remember the fish on the back of my car. (I may or may not hope that the other cars somehow miraculously didn't see the fish.)
There are times where I’ll say something rude or laugh at a mean joke or do something selfish and then, ashamed of my behavior, hope that people nearby didn’t see my bracelet or necklace.
I’m a human. Humans fail. And I don’t want my failures to reflect badly on the cross of Christ, on the love of my Lord, on the face of His forgiveness. How bad would I feel if my actions behind the wheel caused someone to turn away from Christianity because something I did led them to believe that “Christians are hypocrites”? Because that’s precisely what they will think if we act no differently from the rest of the world.
So what’s the cure?
My guilt is worthless and wasted if it doesn’t spur me to do better. I should strive daily to live in a way that glorifies Jesus in every thought I think, syllable I say or deed I do.
The cure is to live life in a way so that my focus always is on Christ – that at the forefront of my mind doesn’t lie my action, but my motive. If I everything I do follows from a desire to please Him, then pleasing actions will follow.
If used solely as accessories, my necklace, bracelet and fish are worthless – just meaningless symbols that, given the human propensity for failure, do more to hinder than help the cause of Christ.
I don’t want to get in the way of God’s ministry.
For these things to make a difference I need to incorporate them – and what they represent – into my everyday living, every moment of every day. I need to come to the realization that a mindset of Love is key to being a positive witness.
