"Christians come in two varieties: those who trust Jesus to get them to heaven while trusting Him now to provide a good life of blessings till they get there, and those who trust Jesus to get them to heaven and discover that what they really want even now is to 'see and savor Jesus Christ.' (Piper) They're actually willing to lose every blessing and suffer any indignity if it will bring them into deeper relationship with Jesus.
"This second variety of Christians - they're the New Way revolutionaries - have been disillusioned by the Old Way approach to life. Unexpected troubles, ones that cannot be traced to a specific failure on their part, have shattered their dreams of how their Christian lives would turn out. Senseless suffering, the kind they have no guarantee of avoiding in the future, has confronted them with a choice between two responses:
"1. Abandon God. What good is He when life falls apart? It was His job to see to it that it didn't. He failed....
"2. Abandon yourself to God, humbling yourself enough to stop telling Him what He should be doing in your life, committing yourself to whatever He's doing, and believing it is good." (Crabb, The Pressure's Off)
The book of Acts gives us the obvious comparison of the two varieties of Christians that Crabb describes. The ones who have turned to outward religion react to Peter out of jealousy, comparison, and self-concern. They've done everything, behaved well, and checked the box and God still hasn't saved them from the difficulties of this life:
The news traveled fast and in no time the leaders and friends back in Jerusalem heard about it - heard that the non-Jewish 'outsiders' were now 'in.' When Peter got back to Jerusalem some of his old associates, concerned about circumcision, called him on the carpet: 'What do you think you're doing rubbing shoulders with that crowd, eating what is prohibited and ruining our good name?' (11:1-3)
Notice that their objections were all centered on outward behaviors. Thankfully, these Christians heard the truth and turned from the Old Way to the New Way:
Hearing it all laid out like that, they quieted down. And then, as it sank in, they started praising God. 'It's really happened! God has broken through to the other nations, opened them up to Life!' (11:18)
The first "New Way Revolutionaries" - the Christians who chose to abandon themselves to God - lived differently. Not focused on the kind of food they ate or the people they were associating with or if their resources would be enough (11:7-10, 15-17, 27-30), but worshipping in a "circle of intensity and obedience, of fasting and praying" (13:3); going away to new Holy Spirit assignments (13:4-5); and persevering in the face of opposition (13:44-45, 50-52).
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
Which variety of Christian am I?...are you? Abandoning God in my disillusioned and disappointed heart, but going through the outward motions? It's sinking in that there's a difference and I'm beginning to worship God from a new place? Or, abandoning myself to God and no longer insisting that He cooperate with my definition of "good"?
3 comments:
do I want to see and savor Jesus more than gets life blessings while still trusting Jesus to get me to heaven?
why do i even have to sit and think about that question. when i read Acts, i just look at the disciples and see confidence in their faith, faithfulness, focus, passion. and this morning when i listened to a song talking about loving God with my whole heart and passion and soul, i just didn't feel it. what does it take to truly get each moment that Jesus is worth losing my life for? i'm so distracted but so thankful that Jesus is alongside me for this and He's continuing to work in me and draw me to Him.
Acts 13.52 They turned on Paul and Barnabas and forced them to leave. Paul and Barnabas shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples....wow its just so powerful how the HS has taken over their lives. is it so bad if i desire to be brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit? being a happy disciple?
Christina, your honest heart and questions are pleasing to God, exactly what He wants from us. You ask the questions that are often in my head - is it so bad that I want joy and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, no matter my circumstances?
I'm beginning to hear God say no, it's not bad. Those are legitimate, God-honoring desires, as long as they are secondary desires to wanting Me first.
Still journeying to understand all this means...
Thanks for relating and sharing Staci!
It's encouraging to be on a journey together and have questions and in the end, take them to Him and pursue Him together. I take so much comfort in knowing that it's okay to be broken and messy. And today I am so thankful Dad is working in me and all of us and will complete His good work and carry it on to completion until Jesus comes back for us. It's not up to me alone.
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