Taking Christianity to a Higher Level
In God’s Revelation to St. John in chapter 3 (1-6) we hear – 1 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.
There is more to Christianity than reading about it, more than studying it, more that acquiring degrees in it, more than talking about it, more than dabbling it. …..
So what is it about? It is about Intimacy with Jesus Christ. And not on our terms, not on our standards, not on an understanding based on selfishness, not in ways that feed our appetites, or a comfort seeking agenda.
Some of us believe that to be simply born is sufficient – after all is not God a God of unconditional love? For too many, there is no such thing as backsliding. For too many this unconditional love is interpreted that God will allow anything and overlook everything.
Some of us believe that to be baptized into the family of God is sufficient – after all, isn’t the goal to be called a Christian? If I concentrate on unconditional love towards others and myself, surely I am doing all that is required. After all, doesn’t unconditional love mean that I am to accept and condone everything in others and I can do and justify everything towards myself.
Many of us will find out too late that unconditional love is not a license to practice, accept, ignore, overlook, or condone bad behavior or choices. There is and always will be accountability for our actions.
Ignoring or denying sin is not an acceptable alternative to confession and reconciliation with the Lord Jesus Christ.
This leads us back to the need of a working knowledge of and with the only name given for health and salvation – Jesus Christ.
Throughout the years, I have encountered many who call themselves Christians and they have represented a broad spectrum. Some have been in my eyes – saints; and others - close to demons. In both extremes, if you were to ask them if they were following the Christ, they would have answered – of course or I hope so.
Some time ago, the man responsible for bringing independence to India was asked if he had considered becoming a Christian. Gandhi replied – “I like their Christ, but when I think of a Christian, I see someone with a mug of beer in one hand and a slab of meat in the other”. To those on the outside who are looking in, the messages we teach, preach, or live will be very hollow if what they see contradicts the spoken word found in Scripture. The adage, “Actions speak louder than words” rings loud and clear.
I know many, too many, who call themselves Christian but by their words or deeds are anything but. They are indeed comfortable, may attend church on some basis, can speak the language on demand, and seem to know how to maneuver within fellowship settings, but they have truly have missed the core meaning.
I don’t know when it changed or if it has always been like this but for most of us, the Christianity we embrace is not what is found in Scripture; for too many it is a figment of our imaginations. Some or many of us tailor make our code of ethics, behavior, and beliefs around what makes us comfortable and what is convenient at the time. For so many of us, we seek and attain a comfort zone that allows us to satisfy our appetites, our desires, our whims, wishes, or whatever and then we cement this place in time and for all time. But for some of us, God, who for me is also known as the “Hound of Heaven”, will not let me stay comfortable, will not let me stay stuck, and will not let me die in place.
I believe this is why I have come across the following quotes from Dietrich Bonheoffer and Abraham Lincoln? Sometimes I know what I want to say but don’t quite know how to frame my thoughts so that others may hear. Then God, I believe, gives me these gems and things become very clear to me.
Abraham Lincoln once said to a friend after visiting the Gettysburg battlefield: "When I left Springfield [to assume the Presidency] I asked the people to pray for me. I was not a Christian. When I buried my son, the severest trial of my life, I was not a Christian. But when I went to Gettysburg and saw the graves of thousands of our soldiers, I then and there consecrated myself to Christ."
The Apostle Paul, once known as Saul, had his spiritual awakening as well. Saul was a highly trained, very religious Pharisee who felt that Christianity was a false religion that needed to be stamped out. With great intensity and determination he persecuted the faithful. And then it happened. On the road to Damascus, he was struck down by Almighty God. In the silence and the waiting he came to a new understanding. Literally, scales fell from his eyes and his sight was restored. At the same time the scales on his spiritual eyes were removed and he understood. His understanding was replaced with God’s understanding - Certainly a much healthier place to be for himself and so many others.
Dietrich Bonheoffer, imprisoned by the Nazi’s during the 2nd World War wrote these words before he was executed – “I was a theologian and a pastor (of a Church) and then I became a Christian”.
Why is it that people who think they are Christian or we think they are reach a point where they know they are not?
If you were to talk to them, they would tell you they are a good person, do good things, and try to live responsible lives. To their fellow travelers, I would bet that Bonheoffer and Lincoln were Christians when they were either ordained or took the presidency respectively. However, to hear what they had to say about themselves, they came to realize that at that point Jesus would have said to them – “get away from me for I never knew you”. Maybe they came to realize that they were doing the right things, but for the wrong reasons. Jesus through Scripture reminds us that we are to love God with our whole mind, body, and soul - and always first. I believe what Dietrich and Abe realized was that God was not properly in their lives. They were doing their own thing for their own reasons. It would seem that Servanthood within God’s Plan was never in their minds or hearts. Certainly they had a plan, they were putting this plan into action, and they were getting, at least in their eyes and the world’s eyes, very positive results, but to the one and only one that counts, they came to understand that they fell short. They were the modern day Pharisees and Sadducees that were in positions of power and authority; working for their perceived ideas of good and at the same time not only denying but persecuting the Christ.
Think about the rich young man. All eyes are upon him then and down through the ages and given the choice between riches representing the world or the God-man known as Jesus, he chose poorly. I am sure that the rich young man had a plan and what the Christ was asking would prevent him from doing the good he had predetermined was essential for the overall good of mankind. Two disciples once asked Jesus to allow them to sit on His right and left side; but we go one better when we time and time again tell this Only Son of the Living God that we have designed it so that we will sit above Jesus in the Kingdom being prepared for us. It did not work for the rich young man, it did not work for the disciples, it did not work for Bonheoffer and Lincoln, and it will not work for us.
Let us take an honest look at our lives. Are we comfortable? – This may not be good. Are we asking God or telling God what needs to happen? Are we listening for an answer or expecting God to condone and support our decisions? Do others see us as ruler or servant? Are we striving to be first or are we working to be last? Are we living like the world where those around us need to support our every thought, word, or deed? Are we living sacrificial lives or do we expect others to sacrifice for and sometimes even to us?
Jesus said things like “I did not come to be served but to serve”; “I only say what the Father tells me to say”; “I only do what the Father shows me to do”; “No one can come to the Father except through me”.
The two disciples on the road to Damascus after the crucifixion and resurrection did not come to life until Jesus met them and caused their hearts to burn with joy. The Apostles returned to their fishing and caught nothing until Jesus told them where to look. The Apostles were intent on feeding the world through their plan, their efforts, and their harvest. The plan, the effort, and the harvest were not of the Lord so we are told that these fell far short and proved most inadequate. However, when they listened to the Son of Righteousness, His plan proved fruitful.
In all that we think, say, and do – is it done with Jesus at the beginning, middle, and at the end? Are we striving to build an intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ?
Is the Holy Spirit active in our lives? Are we open to allowing the 3rd Person of the Trinity to melt us, mold us, fill us, and use us? Or are we frustrating His efforts to sanctify us. Jesus has completed His task on this earth but the Holy Spirit has just begun with each of us. Jesus has told us that to blaspheme Him is a forgivable sin but to blaspheme the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. Let us remember that Jesus’ work is done – it was completed with His victory over sin and death – He is now our Lord and Savior, period. But the work of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of Jesus, to draw us to our Lord and Savior. If we refuse to listen, to be open, to turn to Jesus then we are doomed. Scripture teaches us that there is no other name given for health and salvation but the Lord Jesus Christ. We can ask for another, wait for another, turn to another, seek another, fabricate another, or worship another, but it will be to our destruction. We can refuse to accept that we even need a savior, but this too will be to our destruction. Scripture tells us that all have fallen short. The Holy Spirit comes to prevent us from falling into the bottomless pit but we can refuse to allow Him from succeeding. We blaspheme the Holy Spirit not by calling Him names or swearing at Him but by turning a deaf ear and heart to the saving graces He offers. We cannot harm God in any way, shape, or form – we can only harm ourselves. For many of us, far too many of us, we are set on a path not towards Heaven but away from an eternity with a loving God.
I ask you, are you open to taking your Christianity to a higher level or are you content? Are your beliefs securely grounded in Christian principles that allow you to live intimately with the Lord Jesus Christ? Have we taken an honest inventory?
Have we given our entire being to Almighty God? Are we holding anything back? If so, what is it?
The Process of Sanctification I alluded to can be simplified into this – to allow the Old Adam – our sin nature to die so that the New Adam – Jesus can come and fill us to over flowing. The sin and sins in us must be acknowledged; they must be confessed; we must be willing to amend our lives; we must be reconciled with God such that we want to replace that nature which leads to death with a new nature that leads to life.
The opening verses from God’s Revelation to St. John continue – “But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches”.
If we are not fanatical about our Christian walk, we need to be. We need to be courageous. We need to shed from our life all that keeps us from hearing the Holy Spirit so that we can see Jesus clearly.
Advent is a good time to wake up!
Let us pray
