Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Archives for May 2010

Are You an Observer or a Participant?

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Are you an observer or a participant in life? How about in your local church? Most importantly, which term best describes your walk with Christ? Often we simply float through life, unconcerned or even unaware of what’s going on around us. As long as our needs are being met and we are relatively happy, it can be easy to coast and lose track of the events unfolding right in front of us. We observe without seeing and we hear without listening. We were called to a life that is so much more than this. We were created for action and created for passionately pursuing God and the goals and dreams He gives to each one of us. We were created to donate our unique gifts towards the building of His Kingdom.

Following Christ is not a passive activity, yet Western Christianity has almost encouraged it to become so. We gather in ever growing buildings and are entertained in ever more sophisticated and professional ways. The argument goes that we need these things to compete with the rest of the world. Since when did following Jesus become a competition? Since when did loving others and caring for their needs become something reflected as an accomplishment for our churches? I have nothing against large churches; I attend a fairly big one myself. I do however have a problem with the mentality that says the number of people attending a weekend service is in any way relevant to the “success” of a church. I can safely attest from experience that the number in attendance has no relation to the spiritual health of the church. In fact, I have often seen smaller churches with bigger hearts and a better sense of mission than their larger counterparts. In a large church I believe it is much easier to become complacent and to simply be an observer. We can sit in comfort and be entertained by professional musicians and speakers, then leave feeling satisfied. This continues week after week with our only involvement being to perhaps drop a few dollars in the offering plate. It’s easy to hide in any size church but harder to do so in a small church. In a small church almost everyone is involved in the ministry due to a simple matter of mathematics: there are more positions to be filled than there are attendees. Still, having grown up in small churches I know it’s possible to simply observe in these settings as well. The bottom line is this: the modern church should not exist to entertain us. If they offer opportunities to carry out the mission of Christ (feed the hungry, care for the orphans and widows, and seek justice for those in need), then we should be participating in those activities. If your church isn’t doing those things, you need to be actively engaging them in discussions about creating those opportunities. Without enabling you to carry out the mission of Jesus Christ with other like-minded individuals, there is no point to the church. Neither is there any point in you attending if all you will be doing is playing the part of the casual observer. Get involved, lend a hand, and seek out ways to better minister to those around you with your brothers and sisters in Christ.

The church should simply be a magnification of what’s going on in your own life. We should be striving every day to become actively involved in following Jesus. Seek out His footprints on the path before you. Walk in His way. Don’t watch Him walk by, run out to greet Him and then walk along side of Him. Stay by His side; follow Him everywhere. Touch the sick as He does; shelter those without any place to go. Look after widows, single moms, and orphans. Seek out those in need and care for them in any way in which you are able. This is love, this is being actively engaged; this is following Jesus. We can learn much from studying Jesus and visualizing the life He led on earth, but in the end you’ll be measured by the actions you took, by the ways in which you contributed. You’ll never be measured by the depth of your beliefs, but rather by what you did because of those beliefs. You can fall in love with Jesus by observing Him but you stay in love with Him by participating in the works He gives you to do and discovering more about Him in the process. By working to make the Kingdom of God a reality here on earth you will fall deeper and deeper in love with Jesus. This is the beauty of participation.

Simply observing life, church or Jesus is not good enough. We must be willing to put our hearts into everything we do; we must live in a participatory manner. This is how we were created; this is how we stay on mission. How are you living your life, doing church, and following Jesus? Are you living each moment with passion, determined to jump in with both feet? Do you live life as a whisper or a shout? Jesus didn’t call observers; He invited participants. Which one will you be?

Measuring Up

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Being a follower of Christ is more than just proclaiming yourself to be one. Following Jesus is an active pursuit, not suitable for those more comfortable sitting in the stands or even on the sidelines. To be a follower of Jesus requires purposeful action and a definiteness of direction. Ultimately, whether we are or are not a true follower will be determined by our actions. You can believe in Jesus right where you are, but you cannot follow Him until you move from where you are to where He is.

We should always be working to improve our character, moving ever closer to the life modeled by Jesus. The way we follow Jesus is to do the things that He would do, to go the places He would go. The entire life of Jesus was marked by integrity. He was always focused and stayed on mission. While some of the religious leaders of His day questioned His character, they could never find any flaws with Him. Try as they might, they always went away from conversations with Him having their tail tucked between their legs. Jesus never had to worry about people seeing Him doing something questionable, because there was no room in His character for questionable activities. We can live the same way. Having first determined to be a person of integrity, we can spend the rest of our days strengthening that same resolve. All questionable activities must be immediately rejected; all negative and derogatory speech must be stopped before it leaves our lips. These are not impossible achievements for us. They are matters of choice and discipline.

Modeling our life after Jesus requires that we act with kindness and generosity towards others. These “others” would include everyone we meet. Jesus loves all people equally and so we must strive to do the same. Become know as a person of compassion, one whom can always be depended on to provide an encouraging or comforting word. People long for someone to listen to them, to share their pain. Let’s be that person they turn to when life has them down, regardless of the circumstances. Following Jesus means we will be living a life that looks quite different from the world around us. What better way to start than with a tender and compassionate heart for everyone we meet? Make certain the love you share with others is genuine and not forced. With practice – lots of practice – loving others can truly become second nature.

It’s easy to claim that we are followers of Jesus. It’s easy to articulate our beliefs and encourage others to join us in those beliefs. The difficulty arises when we realize that we must put those beliefs into action. Regardless of how deeply held your beliefs are they will be inconsequential until you take action on their behalf. You can’t love people without actually loving them. Love that matters is not simply a concept, it is an active verb. So it is with all our beliefs. If we do not act them out, they are ultimately useless.

In the end, we may have talked a great game. We may sound like the holiest person on the planet. But if we haven’t given of ourselves to live out our faith, if we haven’t lived sacrificially in order to share what we have with others, we will have missed the entire point of God’s love. It will be up to us whether or not we believe the cost is worth it. However, if we would be a follower of Jesus, this is a price we must be willing to pay. So how well are you measuring up to Jesus? Are you merely practicing a tired rhetoric or are you living your faith out loud and in full view of everyone? All that matters is what we do with our faith. We are known by our confession but measured by our works for Jesus. Are you a true follower? How do you measure up?

Just One

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Margaret Mead is quoted to have said “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” The original disciples of Christ are a perfect example of this principle. Though just twelve in number, they changed the world forever as they steadfastly preached the message of Jesus. Even with such a few number of men, they were able to impact the entire world, and in fact continue to impact the world over two thousand years since their death. Except for the obvious advantage of having known Jesus in His physical form, they were ordinary folks, just like you and me.

The impact the disciples had on the lives of literally billions remains mindboggling to me, while at the same time encouraging me that we do not need large numbers to make a difference. In fact, I would argue that twelve was actually an extraordinary number of people to accomplish something in the name of Jesus. Look at the number of Biblical examples where only one man had a tremendous impact on history. Through the power of God, Samuel helped shape the theology of a nation; Moses led an entire nation out of captivity from a much more powerful captor. The writings of David continue to comfort masses to this very day. Solomon’s wisdom directed the morals and laws of countless nations.

It’s easy to feel like we cannot make a difference by our self. We make the mistake of thinking of ourselves as being all alone. As followers of Jesus, we have the power of God within us. The same power that fueled Gideon’s army, Samson’s strength and Daniel’s prophetic visions dwells in us. Too often we read the Biblical stories of great men and see them as some sort of super humans. The same blood that coursed through their veins centuries ago continues to flow through ours today. We are all flesh and blood, and we are all gifted by God with abilities to do marvelous and incredible works in His name. Though we are few and weak, through us, God simply does the impossible.

The real difference between the Biblical heroes and us is that they chose to trust and to act. How much more could we do if we would simply put our entire trust in Jesus? How much more would we achieve if we would only act on what He gives us to do? How much more fulfilled would we be if we knew without a doubt that we were doing all we were created to do. We need to renew our trust in Him and boldly act with courage. We must do all that He has given us to do.

One man, John the Baptist, with a small band of followers prepared the way for Jesus. Twelve men, followers of Jesus, literally changed the world. One man, Jesus, lived a short but humble life, and secured eternity for everyone who would believe. One man, Paul, along with a companion or two spread the gospel throughout much of the known world. In our modern day world, one man named Bob Pierce took the time to care for one child and in turn founded World Vision, which has since touched the lives of millions. One person, one small group, can indeed impact the world in astounding ways. One person; why not you? Why not me?

Irrelevance

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There is mounting evidence that the modern church in the Western world has lost its relevance. Rapid declines in church attendance in England coupled with college aged students in America leaving the church in droves should be a clear and obvious signal that something is desperately wrong. It is late in the battle and we have done little to stem the tide. We must act swiftly, and in strength, in order to build again the church God desires.

We have lost our way because we have lost our mission. Rather, we have created a new mission, one that is not that which we were called to carry out. We have become consumed with evangelism at the cost of mercy. We have delivered a truth that is devoid of love. In our era of prosperity and mega-churches we have allowed poverty and homelessness to proliferate. We have stood by and watched genocide occur in Africa. It has been on our watch that single parent households have become an accepted norm. The prevalence of AIDS creates millions of new orphans every year. We have become irrelevant because of our silence. When the world needed us most, we were nowhere to be found. When the world needed our hands, they were too busy building larger worship centers for our own people. When the world needed our feet we were too busy running to the latest committee meeting for our congregation.

The modern church has blood on its hands because we refused to act. The screams of murdered children, enslaved teens and hungry parents ring out in accusation against us. We turned our focus inward and forgot those outside the walls of the buildings we built to cater to our comfort. The world at large starves while we indulge in every comfort know to man. There is more bread in our communion plate each week than millions of people will see in a month. We have been blessed beyond belief and we have squandered that blessing.

It’s time to return to “square go”. We must start over and build anew the church that God calls us to be. We need to strip away all that we believe about our responsibilities as Christians and return with vigor to searching the Scriptures in order to reclaim our mission. Let us return to the basics and begin at once to affect change on our world in the name of Jesus. We have food, so we must feed the hungry; we have clothing, so we must clothe the naked; we have homes, so we must shelter the homeless. Silence must no longer be our credo, but rather we must stand up boldly and call out injustice wherever it is found. In anguish we must fall to our knees and repent of our apathy. There is no one else to blame. We are the church, and we have fallen short of our mission and our calling.

These are harsh words and I don’t say them lightly, as I bear the burden of conviction along with each and every one of you who claim to follow Jesus. God forgive us for our blindness, for our lack of action and for our unwillingness to be the body of Christ to a hungry world. It’s not too late, there is hope; but we must begin today, we can no longer delay. Forget what you’ve been taught and everything you know. Return to God’s Word and seek what He would have you to see. Discover what He would have you do to alleviate the pain in this world. Seek Him passionately and allow Him to speak into your life a fresh calling. Feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. Care for the widows, the single moms, and the orphans. Be the hands and feet of Jesus. Reclaim the mission to which you were called. Don’t be content with irrelevance. Repent and boldly reclaim our relevance in a world that needs the Church perhaps now more than ever. Let’s start again and let us boldly live our calling.

The River

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Rivers can be beautiful things. They can be peaceful and calmly flowing or they can rage in a terrifying and uncontrollable manner. The Spirit of God is often compared with water; if the Spirit is within you, flooding you with a river of God’s grace, what type of river are you showing the world? I believe we must master elements of both the peaceful and rushing waters so that we can most appropriately pour the Spirit of God into the lives of others. We must be sensitive to the needs around us, and securely plugged into the overflowing and living water of Jesus to effectively minister to those in need.

When people encounter us they should feel a sense of peace, much like they would when sitting on the banks of a gently flowing river on a cool day. There should be a serenity about us that is immediately transferrable to those who are near. As followers of Jesus, we know exactly who we are and are intimately familiar with our mission. We don’t need to be concerned with finding our purpose in life, because we already know it. We don’t have to be concerned with the direction our life will flow, because we already know that as well. Armed with that knowledge, we can be confident in any situation. Confidence is calming not only for ourselves but for those around us as well. In addition to confidence, we should exude a sense of peace. We follow the One who is called the Prince of Peace; as a result, we should have a great internal peace that we can share with others.

Our love for others must also flow much like a raging river. Love should rush uncontrollably from us into everyone with whom we have contact. No one should be able to stand next to us without being swept away by love. I imagine this is what it was like to stand next to Jesus. When people meet us, they should sense something different and be overwhelmed by our genuine love for them. I know this may sound strange at first. How does one show love to a total stranger? It’s easier than you might think. Picture that person as if Jesus was standing right next to them. Treat them as if you have no other place to be and that you have all the time in the world to talk to them. Genuinely listen to everything they have to say. Don’t simply hear them, really listen and respond in a way that lets them know you understand what they are saying.

Much like a river, we have the capacity to flow both gently and to rage uncontrollably. Both of these aspects of a river, and of the Spirit, should reside within us; they are the hallmarks of a Christian. There will be times when the love of God so overwhelms us that we cannot help but burst with the energy of a rushing river. At other times we may be so consumed with peace that we are as tranquil as a babbling brook. We are responsible to transfer both of these states to those among us who are in need. Some will need to have the love of Jesus violently wash over them, cleansing them, and renewing them; let the Spirit rush out of you and into their lives. Others though can bear no more and simply need God’s peace to soothe them; gently breathe the Spirit within you into their lives.

Do you have the capacity to rage uncontrollably with the love of God, while at other times to gently speak peace into the life of another? The Spirit of God provides us with the power of both peace and force. We must learn how to use His power and to discern the proper usage given the situation we are in. With work and practice, we can learn to fully utilize the power He has entrusted to us. As the old song says, it’s great to have “peace like a river”; just don’t forget to also cut loose and rage like a roaring, turbulent river. To be most effective, we must master the dichotomy of a forceful peace. This is the essence of God; He is an unrelenting, ever flowing, river of love.