What Does Faith Like?
Do not love the world or anything in
the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For
everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the
pride of life – comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its
desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. – 1 John
2:15-17
It’s possible to talk about loving God without
actually loving God. That was the message from the guest pastor at our church.
Who can argue with that truth? Surely, we all know someone who says all the
right things and then lives his life in all the wrong ways?
And that person is never us. Ever. We love God. We
love Jesus. We love the Holy Spirit. Just ask us. We’re good people doing the
best we can. Just ask us.
Here’s a basic truth: God has not called us to the
American dream. He has called us to do greater works than Jesus did on this
earth. Jesus called us to go about the Father’s business. The Father’s business
is not the great American dream.
Someone right now is throwing out the words of
Jeremiah. Yes, God has good plans for us. Yes, God wants to give us hope and
see us prosper. But what, exactly, does that look like?
For many Christians that looks like a big house and
new cars. It looks like a nice vacation every year and dinners out at least
once a week. It looks like dance lessons and Little League and all the things our
children enjoy. It’s that new phone, that boat, that remodeled kitchen.
But does any of that look like our Father’s business?
If we’re honest the answer is no. It’s not that God doesn’t want us to have all
those things and many, many more. It’s just that those things should never be
our priority. And those things, those activities, should never keep us from
doing the things and investing in the things God has called us to do.
Ouch.
Satan tells us we deserve everything our hearts desire.
He entices us to want more and more, better and better. When is enough really
enough? We’re never satisfied because we are seeking to fill ourselves up with
stuff rather than the purposes of God.
We think we know what service means. We count the
seats that are filled in our sanctuaries rather than by the lives changed through
discipleship. We measure our worth by our budgets rather that the lives touched
through outreach. Are we fruitful people? Do we really know what that means?
Lives that are devoted to loving God and serving
people as Jesus did look different than lives cruising through with barely a
glance at His truth. We can say all the right things but do our lives really
reflect the faith we claim? Are people changed for having known us, for
watching how we live? Or are we just one more example of excess in a world full
of hypocrites?
God knows your heart. He knows mine too. What does He
see inside? Think about it.
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