You aren’t the boss of me. I don’t owe you anything. Neither am I the boss of you. And, you don’t owe me anything. However, we are both going to stand before God and he will judge your life and my life. We are both accountable to the God who made the universe, for what we do today and every day.
Lying politicians, rapists, murderers, cheaters, scoundrels of every type and even ‘good’ people will all have our time before our Maker. That will be a sober day, won’t it?
Life is full of conflict, resistance, battles. If you only seek to avoid battles, you will waste away in your apathy, stroking yourself with comfort food and video of other people actually living… then cry a lot when you are about to die.
Enough! Grow a spine! YOU decide what matters most and then be willing to fight, to battle, to overcome obstacles for what matters most. YOU get honest with yourself and God about what matters most to you. If the answer is “Nothing” then ask God to show you what matters most! Ask God to help you cultivate a taste for battle!
You will live only once. Make it count.
I had a great lunch with a friend yesterday. He’s a deep well spiritually speaking, with a good grasp of the gospel and the Body of Christ. He asked a profound question of me: “What have you found to be sustainable as a follower of Jesus?” I answered “That which is timeless and relational is sustainable. Fads, emphases, organizations come and go. Principles and the practices that build relationship last.” I talked about the “Could You Not Tarry One Hour” prayer teaching that people thought was THE key to permanent revival in the 80s… it wasn’t. I said there was no one key that ‘fixed’ everything for us. My friend said “It really comes down to Christ alone.” I replied “Yes. Also, in the last handful of years I’ve learned to see the importance of Jesus expressed through his Body, versus “me and Jesus alone” and then a congregation. I used to see life more that way, but Christ in our ongoing life-together, our conversation, etc. has become very real and valuable to me.”
What will be true and valuable 1 year, 10 years, 30 years from now for you and me as followers of Jesus? That which is:
As I write this, my understanding of the mission Jesus gave his followers is: make disciples. In other words, “Follow me, and help others follow me.” (Mt 28). This seems simple and straightforward enough. It is also profound. We will spend our lives learning more and more about what those words mean, not just as we talk about them, but as we also live them.
There are a few things that make fulfilling Jesus’ mission for us unlikely.
LONE RANGER DISCIPLES
Some people have decided to shun other disciples because of past hurt or even outright disgust with others. The problem with becoming an LRD is that you cut off the life in the Body of Christ you see in Ephesians chapter 4 and other verses. We need to value the expression of Christ through others in order to grow up strong, healthy and without undue delay.
RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHERS
Jesus said “Follow me” not “Study me”. There is too much talk, too much watching and not enough doing for many disciples.
I’ve been a religious philosopher before. It promotes pride by showing one person has more facts crammed in their head than another. On the other hand, sometimes a religious philosopher does not know much of anything on a particular subject, but they have learned how to drone on and on to perpetuate the illusion of intellect. Does this sound like Jesus and what he called us to, or does this sound more like the Pharisees?
Further, some people are just more book-ish or more avid readers than others. Other people prefer doing over reading. Is there really room in God’s family for only one type of person?
ALPHA MALES AND QUEEN BEES
Men and women who have not found their true worth in God’s view of them seek to establish their worth among people. If they can’t charm their way into influence, they try to intimidate or dominate others. They may manipulate and deceive others to gain influence behind the scenes. In any case, if people do not find their worth in God, they will seek for it from people. This puts their core understanding of themselves in the hands of other people.
Alpha males and queen bees seek influence and control over others for their own benefit. They may cloak their words in “Christianese” and their actions in Cheshire-cat smiles, but make no mistake – power is their goal.
CONCLUSION
To be clear, I have not given up on the Body of Christ. I am saying that unless we learn to live and work together as his Body, fulfilling our mission is unlikely. That said, we CAN live the truth of the gospel if we will CHOOSE to. We can be God’s family on his mission to make disciples of every people-group on earth! We can be the Body of Christ who truly carries on the life and service of Jesus to the people of the earth, right here, right now!
Imagine…
