Francis Chan’s latest book, “You and Me Forever”, will certainly challenge the way you think about your marriage, but perhaps even more importantly it will challenge the way you live your life. Every page seems to hold a new challenge for me. For example, Chan says, “While many of us would say we believe what [the Apostle] Paul believed, our lives do not reflect it. If we believe that billions are dying and headed for God’s judgment, does it make sense to center our lives around anything other than the mission to reach them?… Does the way you are living make sense in the light of the existence of hell? Does your use of time and money make sense in light of the suffering in the world today?” What if we really asked those questions of ourselves?
Does it make sense to center our lives around anything other than the mission to reach those without Jesus?
We’ve come a long way in the Western world. Our society in general and our lives in particular are more comfortable and secure than at any other time in history. As great as that may seem, it has done great harm to our focus on Jesus. We are a self-centered and self-sufficient people. If we really believe Jesus is Who He says He is, and if we truly believe that the eternity of every person hangs on that, how can we justify spending our time, energy, and resources on things other than making sure that everyone knows the good news of Jesus?
Does the way you are living make sense in the light of the existence of hell?
There has been a lot of debate over the existence of Hell in recent years, and several books have made their way into the mainstream attempting to either convince us it is or isn’t an actual place. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, I think we can all agree that Jesus made it very clear that to reject Him means spending eternity without Him (Matthew 7:20-23; Matthew 25:46; Luke 13:26-28). Would you wish that on anyone, especially those whom you love? Are you spending your time making certain people understand this truth?
Does your use of time and money make sense in light of the suffering in the world today?
No one likes someone else telling them how to spend their time and money. We want to decide that for ourselves (which goes back to my point of selfishness above). So I’m not going to suggest how you spend your time and money. I’m simply going to ask myself and anyone reading this, “Is the way we are spending our time and money consistent with the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46? Are we feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, the sick, the homeless, and those in prison? Are we providing the basic necessity of clean water to those without that luxury?
Are you living what you believe?
Do your actions reflect what you say you believe? Do mine? What if every follower of Jesus actually began living what they believed? What if our lives actually began to look like Jesus? We could take the good news of Jesus to our neighborhoods and to the world; we could help rescue people from the clutches of Satan; and we would do amazing things by spending our time and resources on the mission of Christ. We would look like Him.
Recommended Resource: “You and Me Forever” by Francis and Lisa Chan