What an Amazing Privilege!
What kind of Christian do you “strive to be”?
I hesitate in using the words “wish to be” because our wishes often do not come true; nevertheless, that which we “strive to be” naturally proves that which we become.
We live in a challenging world.
If we ever believe otherwise, then stand still for five minutes and just listen to the chatter heard in the world. Unless we are at a church event, a worship service, or a small-group Bible study, the conversations heard may not reflect Christ Jesus.
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Even when sitting with a friend at a local coffee shop, enjoying conversation & coffee, the sounds heard from a near-by table may just be radical to the truth about Jesus.
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Even if a person resides in small-town USA, maybe even the Bible-belt, still there are so many who profess to not have time, desire, or need of the Savior Jesus.
We live in a different world than one we grew up in just years earlier. Yes, this is a fact of life, but truly the world is different, and the change can be slow evolution or fast-action moving. Take for instance the mid-1970s.
- During that time, Sunday was a ‘holy-day,’ a time when the world stopped to rest from its work.
- Restaurants, shops, gas stations, and cinemas were closed—& then suddenly, they were not.
I vividly remember the first Sunday my dad pulled our car into the restaurant parking lot in the small town of Wheatfield. It felt so odd to get out of the car, wearing our Sunday clothing, walk into the building and be seated at a table. It felt like we were in outer space. Surrounding us (at other tables) were earthlings joining us in this foreign land because most of the tables were filled with families dressed just like us. Back then, a large part of the population where we lived attended church on Sunday, even though to attend church meant that we needed to drive one hour from our home. Back then, in rural America, churches were not sitting on every corner. Corn fields and bean fields were the most prominent sight when driving down the country roads.
Yet, there we sat at our table, taking in all the new sights and sounds, as we patiently waited for our waitress.
- Then fast-food establishments began to sprout up here and there.
- Then department stores began to be open, but only 1pm to 5pm (because of church, you know). It was not long before the hours crept to become longer hours open, eventually taking over the entire Sunday church times as well.
- Then cinemas began to broadcast movie titles with Sunday afternoon and evening viewing times.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I have enjoyed my fair share of Sunday meals at the local restaurant, shopping at the local stores, and movies at the cinema viewed on a Sunday afternoon. As the years have passed, I have even stopped feeling guilty where guilt once resided.
Maybe you have been reading these words and wonder: Where is all this going?
- No, the point is not intended to ban eating out on Sunday.
- No, the point is not meant to say shopping on Sunday is bad behavior.
- No, the point is not to instruct us to stop enjoying a Sunday movie at the cinema.
The Point—Little things can seem so minor, just a small compromise—until suddenly the little things become BIG.
Truly, a small sin repeated over time can become (after a passage of time) as if it’s not even sin at all. Could not the same be said of faithful actions?
Consider, what the small action of daily Bible reading, maybe reading one passage, one chapter, one verse could mean for a person’s life.
- If just one little verse was meditated upon throughout the day, then the Bible speaks of how the Spirit of God is faithful to use that small verse to speak Jesus into the heart of the person.
Amazing, right?!
- If just one little prayer was prayed throughout the day, then the Bible speaks of how the Spirit of God is faithful to use that small prayer to bring change into the heart of the person being prayed over that day.
The apostle Paul was given these words to write concerning Christian conduct.
- Even though we live in an ever-changing and somewhat challenging world &
- Even though we live in a time when things are just not as they once were—
Still, the personal, intimate question remains:
What kind of Christian do you & I “strive to be”?
- As the world moves away from God, we who ‘Believe in Jesus as our Savior’ are to remain faithful.
- As the world denounces the truth of God, we who are called ‘Christians’ are to remain faithful.
- As the world remains silent about the sinfulness brought by Satan, we who are ‘the Redeemed’ are to remain faithful.
The goal of God’s children is to allow God’s Holy Spirit to continually transform us to become one with the mind of Christ.
With God’s help, this is possible!
Alone and left to our own imaginations, sanctification is impossible because the devil will not go down without a fight.
BUT—With God’s help, this is possible!
- What an Amazing Privilege we have received.
- What a Sure Foundation we have been given.
- What a Victorious Story we have the honor to share with the listening world.
May We Proclaim Jesus & the Coming Day of the Lord.