Tags
casual Christianity, christianity, discipleship, integrity, Jesus, jim elliott, morality, priorities, Pro Bowl, quotes, The Bible
As I write this it is just about half-time at the Pro Bowl. This is a game that is fun to watch if you don’t take it too seriously. No pressure on the quarterback. Virtually no penalties being called. A lot of laughing on the field and off. While it is an honor to be selected to play in the game, every one of these players would rather be playing next Sunday in the Super Bowl. It is really more of a high level pick up game between friends. However, if you are someone who takes football for the competitive game that it is, then you probably find the Hawaii contest a bit boring. It actually comes across as a bit of a cheap imitation of the real thing.
This viewing experience caused me to think about the way we understand the Christian life. There is the Christianity that is best categorized as attending church on Sunday (maybe). Statistics tell us that the person that has adopted this lifestyle hardly reads his/her Bible. While they claim to “believe” the Bible it has made no difference in their behavior (entertainment choices, relationship stability, ethics, etc.). This “Christianity” can best be described as casual.
Then there is biblical Christianity. This is the kind of life that Jesus described:
“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Jim Elliott, who was a martyr for the faith toward the middle of the twentieth century, said it like this, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Most people, when responding to the gospel of Christ, have this kind of call to make–if they will choose to live as a “casual” Christian, or a biblical one. A number of years ago a song was recording with the following lyrics:
You paid far too high a price for me your love, your tears, your pain, to have my soul just stirred at times, and never really changed. You deserve a fiery love, one that won’t ignore you sacrifice, for you paid far too high a price.
this haunts me pastor…its something that i constantly deal with…i believe you hit the nail on the head on this one…i appreciate it
And I appreciate your transparency. The encouraging part is when you said it is something you “constantly deal with.” Because it is when we do not deal with it that we simply slide into spiritual laziness–a very dangerous condition to be in.