Sunday, May 23, 2010

A Call to Service

What does it mean to be like Christ? While seemingly simple, this is a very heavy question in need of deep self-reflection. An easier question to answer would be: What does it mean to not be like Christ? This question creates for us many easy answers which are readily available. Thing is, I think that we are very cognizant of what Jesus expects from us, we just ignore such knowledge. It's not useful to our daily, societal walk to start becoming self-deprecating, serving, lacking judgment, etc. Unfortunately, Jesus did not call us to a life of ignoring the sick, the poor, the hungry. He did not call us to follow the same paths we had before we came to know Him.

The true test of the believer falls into whether he can obediently work for God's kingdom and if that is at the top of his priorities. How do I know this? Because, before I knew Christ, I was just a poor, lonely, fatally wounded beggar on the path to hell. Jesus, in his infinite mercy, knew I could never, on my own strength, rise to my feet, find the road to righteousness, and overcome my self-inflicted wounds. Knowing such, He reached out to me with His hand and I grabbed it, drawing from His strength and grace to return me to the path of righteousness. Jesus, seeing my poor, weakened state, stopped in His tracks and acted to save me. He didn't tell me that I hadn't tried hard enough to find the way to salvation, He didn't rebuke me for the wounds I gave myself, He didn't wait for me to reach out to Him. No, Jesus took the first step, showered me in grace, and brought me to safety. There was no fee, no obligatory reciprocal act, no legal contract. There was only love, a love so overwhelming and ignorant of judgment that I could only grab on to His saving hand. The Creator reached into time for the sake of creation...for my sake.

You can call yourself a Christian. You can make church 52 Sundays a year. You can "sigh at a distance" (Timothy Keller) and pray for help for the impoverished. But, you can't and won't fool God by reaching the lost and weary from the comfort of your couch/convertible/air conditioning.

Can we, who were once so clearly lost and despondent, truly accept such a gift from God and not return at once to the street where we were first found and do all we could to reach out to our former peers? Or are we to leave the walking wounded to their plight on the road to destruction? Are we to dismiss the poor and oppressed and leave it to Jesus to help them? How can we walk with Christ if we refuse to follow Him on His way to see the needy? You can't truly think that God has a bus station for the saved to pick us up before the pitiful neighborhoods and to drop us off in a suburb of Heaven! Blessed are those who are hungry, weak, oppressed, and powerless! This is God's flock that we are called to shepard! God did not establish the covenant of grace to make the rich richer! He pulled us from our lives of opulence so that we may use the blessings given to us from before time to work in His kingdom.

I'm not telling you to sell all your belongings and go live in the wilderness to reach the lost (and desperate in need of a compass). Though, it would be wise to do so if your possessions are the very reason you're avoiding working for the Kingdom of God. I am telling you to involve yourself in the day-to-day preparation of God's kingdom for His return. What does such a lofty and ambiguous imperative look like? Volunteering to tutor the poor, signing up to help lead Bible studies in "seedy" neighborhoods, going on any length of mission to sacrifice your time and money to invest in Christ's work among those in need, etc. If you need more examples, just read the Gospels. Many times is Jesus questioned what it takes to get into Heaven or attain salvation. And many times does Jesus answer to love Himself with all your heart, love your neighbor as much as you spoil/love yourself, and respect the hierarchy of your family/household. It's quite impossible to live a life dedicated to following these ideals and at the same time ignore our calling to share the Gospels with those worse off than we.

You, nor I, were called to live a life of self-dedication. No, we were called to a life of self-indifference and eternal happiness through The Cross.

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