Season 2, Episode 11
In my previous episode, I loved emphasising the childlike simplicity of relationship with God. But there’s another vital aspect of that relationship which is just as fundamental, yet is often missing from the lives of individual Christians: its totality.
Many believers see relationship with God as something that offers benefits at little or no cost. To them, being a ‘committed Christian’ is about what they stand to gain rather than the opportunity to give God the one thing above all else that He desires: themselves. To make it more personal, that means you. All of you!
Which is why Jesus declared that the greatest of all God’s commandments is: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength”.
God created each of us to live in the utmost intimacy with Him, without which His purpose for our individual lives cannot be fulfilled. The real tragedy in today’s world is not that our society has turned its back on God, or that there are too few born-again Christians. It is that God who loves each of us beyond anything we could ever imagine, has so few who give themselves to Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength.
Coming from God, that’s not so much a demand as a desire … the desire of His heart for you.
If you know the truth of what it cost God to give His only Son for you, and what it cost Jesus to come into this world and lay down His life for you – you cannot help but know that it cost them everything. To make it even more pointed, it was us who cost them everything.
If you've listened to some of my earlier episodes you know that, after committing my life to Jesus at 17, then joining a local church, I found myself in a kind of Christian subculture such as I’d never before experienced. The people I got to know, the beliefs we shared, the terminology we used, the activities and programs I became involved in, were overtly Christian. And because of the way God had changed me, from the inside out, I had a real sense of belonging.
Many new Christians have a similar experience … which also comes with a potential problem, if their new-found way of life settles into more of a change of lifestyle. Like: “Before I was a Christian I used to be into that sort of thing, but now I am a Christian I’m into this kind of thing, which I really like better. The people I mix with, the things we talk about, the things we do together …and we’re all Christians!” What’s not to like about that – especially when it began with a genuine, personal experience of God?
But, of course, a true ongoing relationship with God is way, way more than a mere change of lifestyle. It is about giving up your right to your own life!
Jesus was unequivocal about that: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
Even though 2000 years have come and gone since Jesus laid down those clear conditions for anyone who aspires to follow Him, they have not changed. Not that you would know that by looking around at many of today’s Christians and their churches!
It seems like it has never been easier to grow a results-based, numerically successful church or ministry by ‘meeting needs’ and preaching self-gain, instead of lifting up Jesus and presenting the cross of self-denial. And it can all appear so good and right, because it is done ‘in the name of Jesus’ and originates from people having genuine experiences with God.
It surely is a most beautiful thing when the Gospel of Jesus is preached and people respond by opening their hearts to God. Yet, wonderful though it is, the birth of a new child of God – like that of a natural birth – is still but the beginning of a new life. For that ‘babe in Christ’ to grow to maturity and fulfil the desire of God’s heart, they will need to yield to His Spirit and grow in love with Him.
Which, to me, highlights the culpability of those who knowingly take tender, open-hearted, new-born believers, and lead them into man-made ways to fulfil their own agenda, rather than into the ways of Jesus to fulfil His purpose.
As an eager young Christian, I was told I’d been ‘saved to serve’ … and I believed it. Looking back, I know God was with me during those early years of involvement in leadership, evangelism and ministry. Yet it was ten years before He was able to show me that He had called me, not to be an obedient servant, but a loving son.
Yes (in case you’re wondering) we may well serve … but in the same way as Jesus, who served as a son representing his Father,not a servant obeying his master. We are called to be sons of God and brothers to Jesus, so that our entire lives are true expressions – not of service but of sonship.
That well-known faith chapter, Hebrews 11, is a stirring catalogue of those who accomplished great things, simply because they lived for God on His terms. And it is all so attainable. In verse 6 we read: “…anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”. That’s all. The question is never ‘will God be faithful?’ … but will you come to Him and place your entire life in His hands?
Many Christians today view the world’s godlessness and outright rejection of God with fear and despair. They see evil triumphing all around them, while at the same time they feel increasingly impotent to stem the evil tide. Yet, if you are walking with God and your life is in His hands, how can you feel overwhelmed or impotent? God Almighty, the King of the Universe, is with you and He will utterly triumph over all the darkness in this world!
For your part, it is your joy and privilege to say to Him: “Even if nobody else stands with you, I am yours, for your glory and for your will to be done!” You don’t even need to know or understand how that will unfold – because, like Jesus, you have freely chosen to be His and all you want is for Him to be glorified through you. I made that choice many years ago, and it means more to me today than it ever has.
“…the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9) If you are one of those people, you can be sure that He will always strengthen you – supplying all you need to live out your commitment to Him for as long as you live!