Jesus, not me

It’s not working for me anymore…

Jun 11

servantGod Thoughts faith, obedience, relationship 1 Comment

I saw a post on Facebook the other day, and what it implied really bothered me. I hate picking on people, but this bothered me so badly that I’m going to quote it. I did respond to it, but I think I came across as to hard on the individual who posted it. I understand that they are disappointed, and I don’t necessarily know if they’re poking the finger at God, but the way it came across really made me think that this is what they were thinking, and it also really sums up what most people think as well.

… is sad to have just seen someone who was baptized a few years back, but today says, ‘It’s not working for me any more…’ I sometimes wonder why God doesn’t do a better job of keeping his people. But I also wonder, ‘What are all the dynamics that come into play in a decision like that?’

I think this is the wrong question to ask, honestly. I think the real question is: “why aren’t we doing a better job of keeping people?”. If God doesn’t change… if He’s the same today, as He was yesterday, and will be tomorrow, then it isn’t up to God to keep us, it’s up to us to keep ourselves and those around us. Blaming God because someone was baptized and then a few years later has strayed and says “it just wasn’t for me” is a cop-out, and playing the blame-game with someone Who doesn’t deserve that kind of criticism.

I think the problem really comes down to emotion, rather than faith. Too many people “try” Christianity and then when it doesn’t do what they want, they give up on it. But I don’t understand this, because I don’t understand why they “get into it” in the first place then. Do we “get into” Christianity because we expect God to do something for us? I think this is usually it. We want God to heal us, prosper us, take care of us. We go to a meeting, are swept away in anointed worship, get on a “high” and then come to the altar and profess our love and need of a Saviour.

Often it’s like going to a good concert, or a good sports game. In the moment, it’s amazing, the crowd is excited and loud, our hearts are pounding, and we’re cheering like crazy. The next day we’re exhausted but still on the same high. What a great game/concert/worship service that was! We can go around pumped up by that excitement we were a part of for days… sometimes weeks.

But then the excitement fades as real life takes it’s toll. There are long days at work, arguments with the spouse, dealing with kids, hanging out with friends. We spend our time watching TV or playing video games, and the excitement, feelings, and memories dim. What excited us in the moment last week is no longer vivid because the boring day-in, day-out of our life is back. And we no longer feel like we did.

For a concert or sports game, this is par for the course. These things fade, they don’t last forever. However an encounter with God, a real encounter with God, should last forever. You can’t have an encounter with a holy and righteous God and not come away changed. I mean, you can’t have a real encounter without it being a life changing encounter. I love the way Paul Washer describes an encounter with God; it goes on the premise that a meeting with God is like a meeting with a semi-truck. When you encounter that truck going full speed on the highway, one of you will leave that encounter changed — and it isn’t going to be the truck! When you hit that truck, your life is changed in a way that will never be the same again.

Got that imagination working? Imagine it. That is one awfully messy transformation! That is a complete and utter and total transformation! And that is how we should be changed when we meet God, when we truly meet God!

Sadly, this isn’t often the case. And I put myself in the same place… many times have I gone to meetings or camps where I ended up on my face before a God who loved me so much that even if I were the only person on the planet, He still would have sent His Son to die on the cross for me, so that I could have a relationship with God the Father. I know a Saviour that loves me so much that if I were the only person on the planet, He still would have gone willingly to the cross to be humiliated, beaten, and received the full wrath of Almighty God on my behalf. And weeks later I threw that love back in His face as if it meant nothing, and lived life my own way, on my own terms, again!

God forgive me, I am just as guilty as the next man, and have done it many times. It pains me to admit it, and I am ashamed that I have repeatedly despised that most beautiful and generous gift on so many occasions, but I believe this is what happens to a lot of people. It certainly has happened to me.

The real problem is that when things get tough (or we don’t think God is working the way we want Him to) we think that there is something wrong with God, when the reality is there is something wrong with us. You look at a world where self-help books are the source of help to so many people, where people are told to “visualize” success, where the law of the land is me, me, ME! Where people think they are their own gods, that they aren’t responsible for what happens to them and the choices they make. Oh no… I’ll take all the credit for the good things that happen to me, but when bad things happen, God is to blame… He is my scapegoat.

Yet, if God never changed (and we know this to be true), then who really is to blame? God is the same today as He was when we felt so overwhelmed with love for Him, and felt loved by Him. When the feeling wears off, is it God who loves us less? No! It is us who love Him less!

I think there are four places where we can put God.

The first is right in front of us where He belongs. He is first and foremost, He is the most important thing, and we come before Him daily with love and adoration, humility and thanksgiving.

Or we stuff Him in our pocket, and pull Him out when things are too tough to handle on our own. God is useful only when we need Him, but if we don’t need Him, then we won’t pay any attention to Him. He’s safe and secure, tucked away, ready to be called out on a moment’s notice should we need Him.

Third, I think people put Him on a shelf. They don’t have God handy when they need Him, they have to go figure out where they left Him, dust Him off, and then get some help from Him. These are people that will only go to God in the most extreme of circumstances because He’s not even worth enough, to them, to carry around. These people don’t want God to interfere, to make things uncomfortable, to be inconvenienced with a Christian lifestyle. I think these people have a very cluttered shelf and God takes up a small part of the shelf, usually at the back. More prominent on the shelf are the other icons, idols, and self-helps that they reach for first.

Finally, there are the people who are so stubborn and hard-hearted that they deny His very existence. They don’t even have a shelf to put Him on.

In each of these scenarios, however, God is still God. The difference is where we put Him.

So, in a large part, we are responsible for our own relationship with God because, after all, it is our relationship with God. He already proved how much He loved us. If God did nothing else for me from this point forward, I would know that He loved me more than I deserved by what Jesus did for me at the cross. But because God loves me, He continues to bless me and give me good gifts (be they spiritual, emotional, material, whatever). He makes His relationship known to me, He speaks to me, He comforts me. He is always there when I need Him, and I always know where to find Him because He’s out front. God isn’t the co-pilot, as the popular bumper sticker says, God IS the pilot! I’m just along for the ride.

I also think that we, as brothers and sisters in Christ, are responsible for our “siblings”. The Great Commission tells us what our job is, but it also tells us that we have a responsibility:

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” (Matt 28:18-20, NKJV)

Our job is clear: to make disciples and to teach people. Our responsibility is clear: to make disciples and teach people. The dictionary defines “disciples” as: follower, adherent, believer, admirer, devotee, acolyte, votary; pupil, student, learner; upholder, supporter, advocate, proponent, apologist.

A disciple of Jesus Christ is one who continues to learn, who follows His commands, who is devoted to Him and His Word, who supports His people. We are most certainly responsible for our brothers and sisters in Christ! When Cain was asked by God where his brother Abel was (after he had killed him), and Cain replied “am I my brother’s keeper?” I think that God’s answer was a thundering YES!

The bottom line is that we as people need to take responsibility for our own actions. It’s not up to God to “keep us”, it’s up to us to remain faithful. And if we see a brother or sister stumble, or get discouraged, or become lost — we need to deal with that, and not ignore it. Yes, it is their life, but if God has given them to you by being family, or a friend, or someone to whom you are in a position of leadership or authority, then I very much think that God makes you, and me, responsible for how we treat, talk to, encourage, ignore, berate, condemn, or judge them. Ultimately they are responsible for their own salvation and relationship with God, of course, but we do have a responsibility to them as well, and a responsibility to God as to how we deal with them (for good or bad).

I think we need to realize that the burden is on us, not God, to continue our relationship with Him. We have the choice. God made His choice thousands of years ago when Adam and Eve first sinned, because even then He spoke about the coming of Jesus! God made a way for us to have relationship with Him, and all it costs us is love and obedience. Because if we love Him, then the things He asks of us are not hard or, if they are hard, they are worth the effort and cost (and don’t forget, He will give us the strength we need to accomplish what He asks of us if only we will ask Him!).

Remember, Jesus paid the most awful price to bridge the gap between man and God. And we do not need to earn what He has given us; it is a gift, a most beautiful gift. It is freely given, and easily received. He already demonstrated the love He has for us, beyond anything we could ever imagine.

No, it’s not up to God to keep us. It’s up to us to keep ourselves in the faith, and God makes this easy if we put our faith, hope, strength, trust, and love in Him… and Him alone.

God bless! I know this is a hard truth to bear, but it is truth, and I hope it encourages you and grows your relationship with God the Father!