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What is your life’s objective? Does it have anything to do with seeking after the Kingdom of God? On any given day, if you are to ask me, ‘Kevin, how can I pray for you?’, I’ll probably respond by saying that I need the Lord’s guidance. If any of you have walked closely with me for the past several years, is that not a fair statement?
You’ve likely heard me say on more than one occasion that not all believers are called to foreign missions work, street evangelism, teaching or any other area of spiritual gifting. What I have never addressed in my posts is this question, “What are all believers supposed to be doing?” If you were to ask that question and if I were to answer, I would say something such as;
All believers are called to obedience.
(Notice I didn't say 'believe'. I'm not talking about salvation here.)
I sometimes have a difficult time nailing down what obedience looks like. Being obedient to Christ tends to sound rather vague. There are many imitations. 1. We can use the scriptures as a sports rule book. We carry with us a mental list of the kinds of things that we need to abstain from. 2. Or, through our studies, we might also carry a mental list of the kinds of things that God’s people are supposed to do. 3. For the more cunning, you might even study the life of Christ, His work and His ministry and live your life playing a game of copy cat. My King James study notes say that Jesus was likely home schooled. I guess we all have to be homeschooled now. Sorry folks. King James’ study notes never lie. You’re right. Maybe Rome was more than happy to use Judean taxes towards public education for the Jews.
There are likely more ways to live out a counterfeit walk, but I hope that these three are enough for our time here together tonight. I would also like to add that it’s possible, perhaps even common to live out an authentic faith in Christ, yet live a form of obedience that I have just mentioned. If you were to label me, for much of my life with Jesus, I’d likely fall into the first. Just stay away from that demon liquor and all will be well with your soul.
True obedience is impossible to live out without possessing genuine faith. Let us face it. If you don’t really believe in Christ, how can you do what He says? Sure, you can stay away from beer, you can invite in the homeless, you can even minister to the outcast. (because that’s what Jesus did.) Is it possible to abstain from sin, stand for social justice and copy Jesus, all the while living out an empty walk? Yeah. It’s possible to live out that sort of life, all the while believing that Jesus is little more than a character in one of the world’s greatest story books.
In order to obey anyone, be it Jesus, your parents or your supervisor, the person that we are obedient to actually has to be alive. I hope that doesn’t blow you mind. If you are in Christ, I hope to remind you that we serve a God who is in fact alive and who is able to guide us as we seek after His kingdom. Do you believe that? Really? Would you like me to answer my own question? Sure.
Sometime I believe that I can trust God to articulate to me the things that He wants me to do. Sometimes I do not.
I hope you realize, I’m not speaking on the life issues that are clearly outlined in scripture. I’m talking about knowing and doing the things that Jesus wants us to do. Does Jesus want you to hand out scriptures at the fair? Or does he want you being an advocate for Compassion? Does He want you helping drug addicts? Does He want you in Africa? Do all of these things need to be done? Yes. Can you do all of those things effectively? No you can’t.
I think you brought out a good point here that we as Christians tend to forget. Obedience will look different for everyone. We are not all called to do the same thing. I think of the verse at the end of John where Jesus says "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to You? You follow me!"
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm taking that verse out of context, but I think it illustrates a good point. We can't spend a whole lot of time worrying about what God has called someone else to. We have to put our focus on Christ and do what He has called us to do.
Thanks Margaret. Following Him can leave us uncomfortable, because sometimes we find ourselves doing things that few other people are doing.
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to hook Michael with the homeschooling comment. Maybe he needs more time.
Obedience is difficult and it does not come without a price. If I am to be obedient to Christ and follow the teachings of scripture, it will most certainly mean that I need to be different from the world around me "doing things that few other people are doing". I don't try to lay low with my faith like I used to, and that makes me a target. People at work confront me, attempt to "push my buttons" and make slanderous comments about God/Jesus. I almost welcome them now because it forces me to BE the person I need to be. But like you said Kevin, without faith it is not possible to be obedient. Hope plays a part in there too. If I don't have faith and hope, my obedience tends to go by the wayside.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time in my life when I depended on drugs to make me feel good and I've recognized that now I can be dependent on the experiences of God in my life to feel good and believe everything is OK. That isn't walking by faith. I mentioned to you the other day Kevin that I would like to just hop on the surfboard and ride the wave but it is necessary to go down in the valley from time to time. The truth is, much of my life feels like the valley! I long for mountaintop experiences but cannot be dependent on them to bolster my faith (God is not a vending machine) because when that happens, I lose hope and my faith weakens - obedience becomes difficult. When I am sitting on my duff waiting for God to give me some sort of sign that he is still there, I've become nothing more than a needy child. I think that is why many characters in the Old Testament were instructed to pile up large rocks after God did something really incredible. It was a visual reminder to them that he is real and that they experienced his power. I need to remind myself and others of this because the enemy would like nothing more than to see me bumbling along without any hope and a faith that is weak. When that becomes my reality, I am practically useless to God. I would rather be salt and light to a world that appears to be going further and further away from God. Thanks Kevin for the challenge.
Darryl - you have no idea how I needed to hear that today.
ReplyDeleteAny day that I do or say something right is a good day...think I'll go pile up some rocks! Thank you Jesus!
ReplyDeleteAn interesting exercise I did once - I had to write my own obituary, imagining it was 20, 40, whatever years into the future.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds morbid, but the idea was - it had to be written not from my perspective, but from the perspective of the people that were important to me - spouse, kids, friends, employees, etc.
What would I want them to say? Is what I am doing today going to lead those around me in the direction I believe I want? If not, what do I need to change?