Friday, August
24, 2018
This is Paul’s urgent plea
for Christians to live like Christians.
He calls it “right living”. And, to
have right living, there must be some right thinking! Paul ties this call to the urgency of the imminent
return of Christ. That return has always
been at the back of revival – should Christ return today, how would He find the
condition of your heart, and the way you live?
There is a sense of decision
attached to all this. And whenever I
think about how serious it is, I’m reminded of a cartoon I first saw many years
ago. It is the scene of a church worship
service. The pastor is preaching away,
and an usher is standing next to the pew closest to the exit, where a man is
seated in the pew closest to that exit.
He is dressed for a day at the football stadium, and has his hot dog, fries
and drink on a tray table, balancing a portable TV on his lap; the game is on,
and he is glued to the screen. The usher
says: Ralph, ol’ buddy, sooner or later
you’re gonna have to make some choices! Ralph
is the perfect example of what Paul warns about: one foot in the world, and the other in the
church. Now, this is not a new problem,
but it is a problem nonetheless.
Most churches are quite
small. I used to think churches didn’t
grow because people didn’t care about their neighbors enough to invite them to
Church and to accept Christ. These days
I think that’s only partly right; churches don’t grow because there’s not a
strong enough witness to announce that Christianity is important. I’m pretty sure it’s Ralph’s fault!
Here’s why I think Ralph has
missed the whole point of church and being a faithful witness with his
lifestyle. When people look at someone
like Ralph they see Christianity as an add-on to the lifestyle of someone who
doesn’t take being a disciple of Jesus very seriously. Sporadic attendance at church, waffling in
ethical decisions like calling-in to work “sick” when it’s really the need to
go fishing, and more, are not exactly shining examples of a changed life.
Add-ons are like options on
that new car you want to buy; if they come without too much cost, well, sure…throw
it in the deal. But to be a Christian
where His life takes over your life…well, let’s not get too radical, preacher;
there’s a real world out there and that kind of overly-religious stuff is,
well, a bit too much!
Hi, I’m Ralph, and I’m a Christian…well,
at least 6 or 8 Sunday mornings a year.
For You Today
If you take Paul’s warning
to the Roman believers seriously, here’s a way to clean the slate and begin
anew: clean the slate!
Wipe the calendar clean…start
with Jesus and His church as your priority.
Let add-ons make your schedule if they don’t interfere with your walk
with the Master.
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