Message from 12/14/2008. The Cost of Advent
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There's a bible story about Jesus being in the wilderness with a crowd of people. With no In & Out or BurgerKing, people were in need of a meal. A young boy offered Jesus his lunch, 5 small loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus willingly took this meager amount and fed 5,000 people (you know it had to have been good bread when Jesus got done with it)! This blog contains my small dinner rolls, offered in hopes that Jesus might make fresh bread of it for others. Enjoy!
2 comments:
Romantic love, materialism, self-help ideologies, and consumerism are, I believe the “LORDS” of today’s world. Yet Christ “in us, the hope of glory” (Paul, Colossians) calls for Spirit-given radical new birth, that looks at life not through advertising’s come-on’s, E-harmony’s sales pitch, or a me-first approach to this world. Christ calls us to follow Him, as Paul says, to confess (declare, proclaim, admit) that Jesus Christ is LORD, not self, not stuff, not society. In so doing, we are not alone, but stand with a host of saints who have sacrificed everything simply to know the love-relationship, the radical dedication to service, the new life that is in Christ Jesus.
Too often our churches accommodate this world, blending in to society, relating to each other and the world, the flesh, and the devil more as friends, with a more important message and social standing than our commitment to Jesus Christ. One preacher announces the sports scores for his LA teams every Sunday, another passes on Jay Leno jokes, and a third spends more time noticing the faith-allusions in current media than drawing out the implications of salvation by faith through grace, the call to “sin no more,” and the charge to speak a prophetic voice to our society and challenge the status-pagan-quo.
I believe we are afraid to stand up for Jesus, to resist the popularity contests, and thus we don’t see much in the way of radical repentance and life-change, society-impacting service, or a prophetic voice that challenges corporate, governmental, and societal immorality. What then do we have to offer that is any different than, say, a Student’s Recreation Center, a popular bar or tavern, MTV, or the latest sports extravaganza? Meanwhile, in all these venues are people seeking, struggling, hurting, wishing they could cure their hurts, habits and hang-ups, their compulsions and addictions, their compliance with the norms and activities of all those around them.
I wonder what would happen if people knew that in our church there were self-admitted sinners, people submitting themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, willing to go to any length to overcome their personal peccadilloes as well as their character faults, their egregious sins (Pride, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, and Gluttony [a favorite church sin]). What would happen if we challenged injustices such as judicial inequities for the poor (the law works best for those who can hire the best attorney) , or nationalistic pride and self-glorification which says “we act in our national interest” rather than according to the will of God?
Speaking as one who has been inside and part of many churches, and listened to many leaders of others, I have a general sense that congregations are more likely to be run by personality, politics, and powerful pillars, than all the vision statements, creeds, and music lyrics ever written. Unless we are willing to re-examine our paradigm of what “church” (ekklesia, cohel) really is, we will continue to find people attending church “for what I can get out of it,” and be tempted by the religious versions of French fires, donuts, and candy bars, rather than the solid organic spiritual food of a healthy church.
A simple thought experiment we each can apply to the consideration of church renewal, and spiritual awakening is the simple application of “the five whys.” Simply respond (preferably on paper) to the question “why do I do what I do in life?” (selecting the one thing that consumes your time, emotions, intellect, and physical presence), giving 5 reasons. Then for each of those five reasons, again ask yourself “why?” five times. This results in an exponential collection of answers, but there should be common themes. One caveat, the answers must be genuine, heartfelt, and searching, not trite, or answered in the cheap-and-easy-churc-answer, God or Jesus. For example, Why did I pursue X career?
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. And so on. Another approach is “what is my view of church?” and then apply the 5 why’s. This exercise might take you 30 minutes, but will be very revealing. I can’t answer for you. What do your answers reveal? What do you value? Does your lifestyle match your values?
Blessings,
JHD
12-19-2008
I like to reflect about my religion While at the Gold's gyms in Dallas.
Post a Comment