It seems so many Christians are desperately seeking to find God’s will for their lives. From my observations, perhaps no other question causes more stress in the life of a believer than this one. I’ve seen far too many Christians paralyzed over not being able to figure out the exact path God wants them to walk. Instead of doing something that would further the mission of Christ, they become frozen in the fear of doing anything outside of God’s perfect will for their lives. As one of my favorite authors, Greg Boyd, reveals in his upcoming book, “The Myth of the Blueprint”, Christians have allowed secular influences to color the way we understand the will of God. We’ve twisted the message of what God’s will is for the Church and narrowed it down into seeking what His will is for our individual lives. That’s not in the Bible; it’s only in our own selfish and short-sighted interpretation.
Ephesians
What is the Measure of Your Success?
How do you define success? Is it the amount of money in your retirement account or perhaps the cash you have at your fingertips? Is it the car you drive or the house in which you live? Maybe you would define success by the job you hold, the company you keep or the possessions you own. The more altruistic might say their success is reflected in their family or friends. As Christians we might shake our head and acknowledge those to be ways the world defines success, but not ways in which we would ever describe it. Yet when I look at my life and that of fellow believers, I cannot help but wonder if we are any different at all; in what ways are we truly setting ourselves apart from those who do not choose to follow Christ?
Faith and Works
There’s been a debate raging among Christians for a long time about whether we are saved by faith or by works. On one side of the debate are those who say that we simply need to believe in Jesus and accept Him as Lord of our life. In the other camp are those that say we must earn our salvation by the things we do. I submit to you that the Biblical model is not a question of faith or works, but rather the combination of faith and works.
Who Needs Enemies?
I recently heard a talk by Christine Cain where she made the statement, “Why do we need the devil when we’ve got Christians?” It is very sad how true this remark actually is. While we are encouraged in the Bible to be a unified body of believers (John 17:11, Ephesians 4:1-3), the reality is that we have become anything but that; the modern church is a fragmented body of denominations marked by warring factions of worship styles, missional focuses, and political agendas. We no longer rally around the commands of Jesus, but rather flock to like-minded individuals or comfortable surroundings.
Are You a Follower of Christ?
An Indian college professor once told a Christian student of his that, “If you Christians lived like Jesus, all of India would accept Christ”. How undeniably tragic; if those of us who professed to follow Jesus Christ actually did so, the world would be changed and rocked to its core. This raises a baffling question for me. Why would someone choose to be a Christian and then live as if the choice was never made? Why is it so many surrender their lives to Jesus only to walk in ways that are diametrically opposed to His teachings? What is it they hope to gain?
Perhaps the Western Christianity of the past couple hundred years is to blame. We have taught a salvation possible with minimal effort and even less commitment. Pray this magic prayer and save yourself from a fiery hell, no further action on your part will be necessary! The notion of such teaching conjures up images of a carnival barker yelling out to every passerby. But this is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ; this is not the Good News we are to take throughout the world. It is not the message and mission of Jesus that we find in the Bible.
Becoming a Christian, a little Christ, one who looks like Jesus, requires action and a lifelong commitment to carrying out the instructions given to us by the very Son of God. Jesus is not simply a commodity, or a lucky ticket out of Hell. Rather He is a priceless gift, the means by which we can experience life as it was meant to be lived both here on earth and in His presence for eternity. If we see Christ as an escape route from pain and suffering, we will never understand what it truly means to know Him; He will simply remain a distant Savior who we claim to know in a casual sense. If instead we see Him as a loving Lord who is worthy of all our honor and effort, we will come to know Him fully and find rest in His comfort and peace.
It is only by becoming intimately familiar with His heart and His ways that we be able to become true followers of Christ. Until our heart breaks for the things that His does, until we see every person as a valuable and special creation, we will not be able to carry out His mission. This is what it means to follow Jesus: to know Him, to love Him, and to imitate Him. This is so much more than simply praying a prayer and claiming to now be a “Christian”. Until it means something, it means nothing. Going to church won’t save you, saying a prayer won’t make you a Christian, and reading the Bible will not get it done. Becoming a follower of Christ requires putting your entire life and trust in Him alone. It requires doing the work He created you to do; it means loving Him above all else and sharing His love with the world.
Following Jesus means we must walk the path that He walked. You can’t follow someone by heading in an opposite direction. We must do the things Christ did; He has specifically gifted us in unique ways to do work that only we can do (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 2:10). Beyond our belief in Him, a true follower of Christ does what Christ did; we live as He lived. If you aren’t serious about surrendering absolutely everything to Jesus, don’t waste your time becoming a lip-service Christian. This is not a path for the faint of heart; it’s a road of suffering, a life of intense highs and excruciating lows. As followers of Jesus we are on an unstoppable mission. We do not faint and we will not turn back. This is as serious and real as it gets. You can keep your so-called “Christianity”. I choose to follow Christ.