I recently heard Greg Boyd say how troubled he was that “so many people say they are willing to die for Christ, yet they aren’t willing to live for Him”. How easy it is for us to proclaim our loyalty to Jesus and say that we would never deny Him, even if that meant being killed. If that is true, why is it we live lives that look exactly like those around us? How can it possibly be true that we would have the resolve to die for Christ when we can’t even muster the discipline to live for Him in our daily lives?
Discipleship
Fan or Follower?
What are we doing? How much longer are we going to play at this thing called Christianity? We prayed the prayer. We got baptized. We’re good. Is that all there is? Why did Jesus say that one day many would come to Him saying, “Lord, Lord!”, and yet He will send them away because He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23)? Are we missing something? Surely we know and are blessed by God; how else could we be so content and living such comfortable lives? We have been lulled into a false security and our very lives hang in the balance.
More
I always thought there’d be more. To be perfectly honest, I assumed I would be more. I expected to have accomplished more by now. I imagined I’d be known by more people. More; it’s such a simple yet sinister word. More is insatiable; it can never be satisfied. More is a beggar, regardless of how much I already have. More is a thorn that incessantly pokes at my soul and demands that I be, well, more. Can you relate? Maybe it’s just me. Perhaps I’m the only one who is constantly uncomfortable and always seeking more. But I’ll bet that’s not the case.
Time Wasters
The older I get, the more urgently I tend to look at life. I don’t know if it’s a matter of staring down mortality or simply a maturing, but I am struck by how much more intentional I am compelled to live each day as I go through life. When I was younger, I would fill my spare time reading science fiction or watching television. Neither of these activities are a part of my life any longer. Engaging in anything that does not in some way further the mission of Christ seems entirely futile to me. The common caveat to interject here would be for me to say that this is what works for me and isn’t something that someone has to adopt for themselves to live a more Christ-like life. That may be true, but I think it’s too easy to dismiss out of hand the possibility that we all should be taking more responsibility for how we are spending the time God has entrusted to us.
Living like Jesus
I recently read of an individual who decided to move outside his comfort zone to live a life that looks like Jesus. Josh is 20 years old and had befriended an elderly homeless woman. One night she got beat up pretty badly, and Josh offered to take her to a friend’s house where she could stay for awhile. The woman wasn’t comfortable leaving her usual surroundings. So what did Josh do? He didn’t walk away thinking he had done what he could. He didn’t berate her for not accepting help. No, he decided to start sleeping on the street next to her to provide protection. What a beautiful picture of Jesus! Josh went to where the hurting person was rather than wait for them to come to him.