What are your plans for the weekend? How about the next vacation, have you started thinking about where you’d like to go and what you’d like to do? How about the work that needs to be done around your house, are you planning what you need to buy at the home center? So much of our lives are spent thinking about the things we need and would like to do. We put great thought and effort into mapping out the ideal vacation or the perfect landscaping project. Did you ever pause to consider how much time we spend designing our lives compared to how little we think about sharing the gospel of Jesus with our friends and neighbors?
Discipleship
Abandoned to Obedience
In David Platt’s latest book, “Follow Me”, there is a powerful passage that details what our lives should look like as followers of Jesus. The author writes, “All throughout history, God has purposed to raise up a people who by His grace are so holy and so pure and so abandoned in their obedience to Him that they dread the thought of disobedience. A people who are so serious about sin that they help each other to avoid it at every turn because they know how dangerous and deadly it is. God has determined to display His character through a distinct people who show a watching world that He is great, holy, powerful, and pure.”
Obedience is Not Optional
A reader recently wrote that they “didn’t know any Christians doing all the things you write about”. They were referring to things like feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, the sick, orphans, and widows; demonstrating God’s love, peace and patience. All the things Jesus told us to do. That the whole of the comment was caustic and meant to discredit what I write about was not what troubled me. You get used to things like that pretty quickly as a writer. What deeply bothered me was the fact that this person didn’t know a single soul who was following the commands of Jesus. This stuff isn’t optional. Disciples of Jesus do what He told them to do.
The Life of a Disciple
Being a disciple of Jesus means you are constantly seeking to obey His commands and live in the manner He did. It means demonstrating love in all your interactions and exemplifying humility as you consistently seek to serve others. It’s a tall order and one that is not easily accomplished. Jesus warned that the way to Heaven was through a narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14). Without a doubt, it’s easier to travel the wide and well worn path in life, but we have chosen to follow Christ. As a result, our lives must look different from those around us. When people see us, they should catch a glimpse of Jesus.
Deceived
As I sat in a Sunday morning service recently, the musicians quit playing so all that was heard were the voices of those gathered. I smiled, basking in the sound of God’s people offering praise to our King. But suddenly I became overwhelmed with sadness. Were these really God’s people? How many of those present thought they were Christians simply because they had prayed a prayer at some point in their lives? How many would leave that place to think little more of Christ until they returned the next week? I wondered how many of those gathered were true disciples of Jesus, seeking to serve others, express His love, and obey His commands every day of their lives. How many were deceived thinking their eternity was set, when in reality the truth was far short of this?