Looking Forward

"Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin who was himself looking forward to the kingdom of God, came and boldly went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’s body." -Mark 15:43 CSB

I wonder how many Americans who would call ourselves Christian could have such a statement written about us. What about our lives would say that we are looking forward to the kingdom of God? For many of us our days are too full of distractions to do much for the kingdom of God. We are often more devoted to culture, entertainment, reputation, and our various daily activities than we are to Christ and his kingdom. We do little with intent to bring glory to God. Doesn't this feel off base to anyone else?

I was raised in a Christian home and for that I am grateful. Also, I was raised in a theologically strong, mission oriented church. I would say that I was given just about every Christian advantage anyone could receive. Yet I didn't come to a point where my faith was personal to me until I was a teen. My religious background taught me a lot, but I could never hope to be much different than anyone else in the world until the Spirit of God wrecked my heart with the love of Jesus. Many people today are just like I was before Jesus made himself real to me. We believe in him intellectually, but our hearts remain relatively unconditioned by the message of the gospel.

How do I know this is true? Because of how few Christians I know who are truly bold about anything regarding their supposed faith. Joseph could have died for his devotion to Jesus. He risked status, reputation... his very livelihood to come out as someone who cared for Jesus and yet he did it. For many so called Christians in our day, we are afraid to stand up and take a Christian position on issues at hand for fear of what people might say or do. We are unwilling to put our phones down and pray. We are unwilling to turn off Facebook and Netflix for a while to spend time in God's word daily listening for his voice. I know we don't have Joseph's faith because there are few signs of such boldness amongst many believers in our culture today.

I don't write this to discourage anyone per se, but I do want to see people grieved over how little we love God. I want us to feel something again regarding Jesus and the life he has called us to. Perhaps if we could grieve over our sin and indifference again, we would turn our hearts back to God and the Spirit would walk with us and teach us as never before. Then also we would make a profound impact for the Gospel in our land.

I am crazy enough to believe that God wants a holy, single-minded church in America. He wants a church that is obsessed with Jesus, his glory, and his kingdom over everything else. I also know that God is not withholding himself from his children. If anything, we are withholding ourselves from him. Have you wandered from God? He is calling you to repent once again and return to him. If you are hearing him speak to you in this, realize he does not convict you to crush you, but to restore you. His endgame is your good and his glory. Those two are very closely related so don't tarry any longer in apathy and sin when Jesus is calling.

Oh... and remember that he loves you. His bloody cross and empty tomb stand eternally to remind you that this is true.

The Wrong Scorecard

I am convinced that much of Evangelical Christianity in the West has been playing with the wrong scorecard for a long time. We have measured success by the size of our buildings, by the number of attenders, by the signs and wonders produced in services, and by the number of hands raised at an alter call. I'm sure I can add several other metrics, but the common theme here is that these are all outward rather than inward. I would not assert that outward signs are a bad thing. In fact, they are important. However, outward signs are easily faked and that is my concern. Jesus has not called us to build a good show, but to make disciples. Disciple-making can only occur where inner transformation is taking place. 

There will be many people in hell who thought they were good with God, but will discover they were far from him. Rather than trusting in Jesus, they appeal to their works. They think that they are good because they raised their hand and walked down an isle during a church service. They think they are good because they speak in tongues or have performed signs and wonders. They think they are good because they were baptized. They missed the fact that it is not about outward appearances and works, but inner transformation that leads to good works. Jesus said that many would come to him saying "Lord, Lord" and appealing to their good works rather than to his good grace. Those will be cast out (Matthew 7).

People of God are a working, sign producing people. More important than the signs themselves, is the motivation behind them. Do we really love Jesus? Have our hearts been regenerated in his grace and truth? I am convinced that we Christians work from grace, not towards it. The difference is often subtle and hard to distinguish on the surface. Some discerning types of people might very well see motivation in a person, but for most people we have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. We can't see the condition of their heart so we have to go off of what we see. It's not so with God. He knows our hearts. He knows whether we serve him because we love him, or because we want something from him.

So what is the proper scorecard? Spiritual transformation is prominent. We should be asking ourselves whether or not we are actually becoming more like Jesus. If we are not, then we must question whether the Holy Spirit is involved with out spiritual pursuits at all. I have much more to say on this, but I am going to stop here. All I know for certain is that God is about his glory and he is about redeeming a people for his glory. Those whom he redeems he does not leave as we once were. In fact, Scripture teaches that those he foreknew, he also predestined and those he predestined he also gloried. It is a foregone conclusion then, that those who are in Christ will be like Jesus one day. Right now he is working with us to move the dial a lot closer to where it should be. None of us are perfect, but if we are being worked on by the Spirit, we should be getting closer. 

So then let's not look only to the external factors, but to the inner life which should be the motivation behind any externals we produce. Amen.