The most popular post I ever wrote was titled, “What Does it Mean to be a Christian?” I wrote that after a close friend of mine had accepted the Lord and I wanted to give him a primer of sorts as to what living a life devoted to Christ should look like. I believe that we who have called ourselves Christians for a long time probably skim over articles such as that one, assuming they are too basic or that we already know what being a Christ-follower entails. The past couple of years have convinced me that nothing could be further from the truth. The vast majority of people calling themselves Christians have no idea what it means to truly follow Christ.
Isaiah
Solutions for Apathy
I recently wrote a post about apathy in the church today (See “Apathy”). It struck me after publishing that piece that while it was heavy on stating the problem, it was a little light on providing solutions. It’s easy to spot problems and rail against them. It’s another thing entirely to take a step back and suggest solutions. I don’t want to be a person who simply points out flaws but presents no way to correct them. I want to be like Jesus. He was all about answers. His mission was to provide a solution to the problem, not simply point out our flaws (John 3:17).
It’s All about Love
Everything we do for Christ, every one of His commands, comes back to a single word: love. Whether it’s seeking to bring justice to the oppressed or set victims of human trafficking free (Isaiah 58:6), we do this out of love. When we feed the hungry or provide clean water to villages that previously had no access to it (Matthew 25:35), we demonstrate God’s love. Using our time and resources to care for the single mothers or homeless people (James 1:27) demonstrates our love for them. Love is the key to every ill of our society. It is the salve for every wound and conflict. Love is the only answer, and it looks exactly like Jesus.
Passion
I enjoy listening to music as I drift to sleep each night. Recently I was listening to an older song by Margaret Becker entitled, “This is My Passion”. While I’ve listened to this song hundreds of times over the years, I was particularly struck on that night by the refrain of the chorus where she sings: “This is my passion, holiness, holiness”. The poignancy of the lyric is driven home by Margaret’s earnest vocal. What if we could say with conviction that the passion of our life was holiness? Yet, isn’t this what Jesus calls each of us to in our own lives?
What Do You Value Most?
Are you living by the values of society or the values of God? It’s easy for the line to get blurred. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether something is God’s blessing or simply the result of selfish ambition. Especially for those of us in the West, the temptation to conform to what our culture considers to be normal can be overwhelming. We try to keep up with the Jones’s instead of humbly serving and loving them. Our focus tends to be on our personal enjoyment or on the size of our retirement nest egg. Satan is having a field day with our values, and too often Christians are excusing it in the name of God’s favor.