Our group discussions on evangelism Sunday night served as a great reminder to me that not only do most people come to Christ after hearing about Him many, many times, but as Christians, we also need many, many opportunities to finally grasp what God is trying to show us. I'm so glad He is loving, patient, and forgiving. However, the danger is that we abuse those qualities and begin to lose our sense of reverence and fear for God's authority in our lives. Nevertheless, as we reach out to those around us, please don't forget that we are all a work in progress. We all have things we need to discover, changes that need to be made, and opportunities we need to seize.
God is really showing me a lot of things through several different sources, so I'd like to recap some of those below. Here's how God is trying to transform me...
In the book of Deuteronomy, God is reminding me that His plan will bring His blessings if we are obedient to His commands. I don't and won't ever preach a message that focuses on doing good so you can be blessed. However, this is a basic principle taught all throughout Scripture. Yes, God does intend to bless us. Yes, His blessings are often tied to our obedience, but if we only obey so we can be blessed, then we'll soon discover that our obedience is flawed and not worthy of blessing! We ought to love and serve God regardless of what He may give us in the future because what's He's given us in the past through Jesus Christ is more than enough!
Through the books Organic Leadership and Search and Rescue, God reminded me that leaders and true followers of Christ don't simply just happen. We have to be willing to come alongside people and help them discover and capitalize on their God-given potential. If we aren't intentional about helping others become intentionally connected to Christ, we'll do nothing more than produce a bunch of lazy people who follow us instead of HIM!
In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day reinforced the biblical principle that serving God often requires us to endure difficulty and take steps of faith. After all, have we forgotten that Jesus has called us to follow Him, and where did He end up? That's right, Jesus ended up dying for those He loved. So if we aren't willing to face the difficult decisions and suffer for the cause of Christ, then are we even really following Him? I'm so broken and frustrated by the sense of entitlement and laziness that Christians, myself included, have grown accustomed to.
Finally, unChristian, reminded me of the statement I just made at the end of the previous paragraph. Additionally, we can ignore it all day long, but the reality is that those who don't follow Jesus think those who do follow Jesus are hypocritical, judgmental, and sheltered from reality. In so many ways, these perceptions are actually true, and until the church begins to ACT differently, these perceptions will never change!
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