Your Christianity

How would you describe your Christianity? Before you answer, let me explain what I mean. There are people who say they are Christians, but they do not know what to do with it. Nor do they care to find out.

One particular day, some time ago, Ben my oldest son, came to me with a problem. The brakes on his car were making a horrible grinding noises. Now even if you don’t know much about brakes, you know that a grinding noise is not good.
“Let’s go look at it”, I said.
His answer surprised me. “Can we do it later?”

Before we criticize, let me ask you. How many times have you known enough to know there was a problem in your spiritual life, you asked for help, but then was not ready for the answer? In Ben’s defense, he never claimed to be a mechanic.

When He returned home I was waiting for him. I went outside as he drove his car down the street and turned around in our driveway. Just as he said, there was the noise. His brakes needed attention.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
“You need to take care of it as soon as possible, or it will get worse.” I tried to stress to him that this is something that you can’t put off.
“OK” He said, “What do I need.”
I thought he was going to get serious and take care of this. So I made him a list. “This is what you need to pick up at the auto parts store, then we will take care of it.” I picked up the list and handed it to him. I watched him put it into his pocket.
Then he looked at me and said, “The next time I go out, I will pick up these parts and we can take care of it.”
“The next time?” “What about right now?” I said.
“Not right now.” “A little later.”

Now be careful. Again, before we criticize. Don’t you have something written down from God the Father to help you? When was the last time you let God use it to help you, or is our answer the same as Ben’s, “A little later, then I will be ready.”

You see, I believe we have a problem. And our problem is the same as Ben’s. We know about it. We know it should be taken care. We even know that if we let the problem continue it could be dangerous. But we have decided to keep going anyway just like we are. “Not right now.” “A little later we will take of it.”

Let’s dig deeper.
Can Ben drive a car? Yes.
Does Ben have everything he needs to be the best driver of that car? Yes.
Does Ben use everything that is offered so he can be the best driver of that car? We can’t so quickly answer that question.

Ready?

Are you a Christian?
Do you have everything you need to be the best Christian you can be?
Do you use everything that is offered so you can be the best possible Christian you can be?

How fast were you able to answer that last question?

Jesus told us that he came to offer life. Life to the fullest, John 10:10. What did he mean by that statement? Either Jesus came to give us the best possible life we can have.

Take a look around. Look at the advantages we have today compared to the time when Jesus was here. Certainly, our work, daily living, our existence is better. If simply by the modern conveniences we have. Imagine life without computers. Telephones, T.V., microwaves, cars, stoves refrigerators. And, with these advantages, we want more. How about we take a look at our attitudes.

I’m talking on my wireless telephone. Heating my dinner for 20 seconds in the microwave. Watching a baseball game on one channel, while checking the scores on another channel. Another phone call interrupts my call, but it is ok because my caller ID lets me know if I want to talk to this person. I put the first call on hold, talk to the other person. Find out I have to go pick up my child at whatever practice they are at. My dinner is ready. So I hurry-up and eat that, while I am driving. Pick-up the child, come home. Heat him some dinner while he gets ready to go to whatever meeting is planned for that night, that I have to drive to. Then we all come home too exhausted from the day to do or think about anything else.
Someone somewhere decided that in order to have a full life we must, we have to fill every waking moment with as much stuff as possible so we do not miss out on anything.
Now listen to me. We are missing out, because we are trying to fill our lives with stuff instead of meaning. Listen to words of Jesus again.

John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)

How do we turn this around?
Understand we have to become unplugged. But, I don’t believe it was something we did consciously. We have become so busy, that we had to put Jesus in His own little area. That was nicely done for us already at church. So I have the work Arthur, the play Arthur, the home Arthur, the husband and father Arthur, and the Christian Arthur. The Work doesn’t interfere with the home. Husband and father don’t interfere with work. Play comes out from time to time when everything else is satisfied. And we let Jesus come out of his box on Sunday morning.

Now listen. Being a Christian defines who and what we are. It does not, can not be put aside, and taken out when are ready. We will never have the kind of life that Jesus had in mind if we think of our Christianity in these terms. How many times have you heard, or even said yourself, “I have more things to do first, then I will have time for God.” That is the kind of thinking we are talking about.
Being a follower of Christ is who you are, and that flows through everything you do, and becomes the defining thing in your life.

How do we change this pattern?

Exodus 24:12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there…(KJV)

Jewish rabbis say we miss the meaning of this verse in our translations. If we were to take all day to climb to the top of the mountain. Steep parts, rocky parts, dangerous and easy parts. When we got to the top of the mountain what would we be thinking of? Getting down off the mountain. We never just spend time on the mountain. God is telling Moses to come up to the top of the mountain and just be here with me. Put everything else aside and just be here, now, with me.

Stop thinking about what you are going to fix for dinner, Who’s pitching on the mound, what friend said what to who, everything you are going to have to do tomorrow. Just be here, right now, with me. Let’s get this relationship right, and go on from there.

So I ask the question. Where are you, and where is God?