Thursday, March 16, 2017

Rise Up Church. Rise Up Christian.

I was talking to someone yesterday about the condition of the church as a whole in our world today. The conversation centered mainly on how the church, as a whole, has lost its focus. I fear that we, as Christians, have become what Revelation 3:16 would call "lukewarm" Christians.
 
*Disclaimer: This is not a post intended to bash the church. There are many Jesus filled churches. There are many Jesus filled people loving the lost and reaching out to the broken. This is not a bitter filled post about how the church is useless. This is a post to call you and I, as part of the church, to a higher standard.*
 
When did Christians decide that if they weren't comfortable, then God's command to "Go and make disciples" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" that it did not apply to them? When did Christians start putting more emphasis on the size of our church building than the size of the mission field we have beyond our church walls? When did Christians decide that what the world thinks of us was more important than what our God thinks of us? When did we stop standing for God's definition of right and just go along with what everyone else says is okay?
 
Yes, I understand that the church is flawed and broken and that we have weak points because we are sinners but it is almost like we have become comfortable with that.
 
We do not strive for a higher standard. Worse yet, when we see others striving for a higher standard, we judge them and often, in my observation, snub them. When we see Christians actively loving as Christ commanded (not suggested), we think they are "holier than thou." When we see Christians actively going not just to other nations but our own communities, we think they are "crazy" and somehow that is good for them, but not our calling as well.
 
Mind you, I am not saying everyone is called to go to a foreign country, but we are called to carry our faith and actively pursue showing Christ beyond our church walls. Crazier yet, what if God does call you to another country or how about this ... what if God calls you to your own neighborhood, school, and work to share the Gospel by the way you love others and live out your faith?
 
I think the biggest thing the church misses in our world today (and just to get really specific, anyone who claims to be a Christian is part of the church because the church is the body of Christ), is the command to go, love, and do. We are not called to be comfortable. We are not called to be like the world. We are not called to settle for what this world sees as good and true.
 
We are called to imitate Christ and reflect His glory. We are called to be audacious and live a life of love. Intentional love. A love that is sincere and hates what is evil but clings to what is good.
 
God's calling for our lives is so much higher than anything we can find in this world. We can't settle for it or just wait for it to happen. We have to be intentional. We, as Christians and a Church, have to be brave enough to get uncomfortable. To love enough to see people even in their raw brokenness. To live our faith in such a way that people can't doubt that God is doing something great in us. Not because of anything we do, but just because of how great God is.
 
God's love is so much vaster and wider than we know because we aren't willing to fully experience it. Church ... Christian, rise up! Dare to seek God and His face. Dare to live like love ... like Jesus within and outside those walls. Dare to give and then give some more. Dare to support other's in ministry as they pursue God's call. Dare to follow God's call for you.
 
Life is not to be taken for granted. Let's get moving. There is so much to be done here. There is no time to waste.