Upon reading this chapter, I realize that the previous chapters were mere warm-ups to the real beat-downs Crazy Love has in store for us.
In this chapter, Francis Chan challenges us with descriptions of a "lukewarm" Christian. After reading each example, I found myself saying "Yup, that's me" every time. It's one thing when I know that I'm unworthy, and it's another when someone tells me that, as a lukewarm Christian, I am not even fit for manure. This revealed to me a glimpse of the life that God requires of me and how much I fall short.
One of the biggest things that stuck out at me while reading was the verse Matthew 7:21 which states, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
It's a pretty simple verse, but I think what it made me realize about myself was that I thought my salvation was assured and the Christian life I was living was sufficient just because I did and said what other "good" Christians were doing and saying. As Pastor Francis wrote, as a lukewarm Christian, I live my life comparing it to others' and not what is required of me in the Bible. As Philippians 3:10 states, knowing Christ is not just knowing about his death and resurrection but it's also partaking in his sufferings and becoming like him in his death.
On those rare occasions I do something extra-Christiany like donating to the poor or giving up a day to serve the homeless, I do feel pretty satisfied with myself and believe that God is satisfied, but in reality, it's not even close. God requires us not to just give up more of ourselves, but to give up ALL of ourselves.
I am NOT good soil. I am soil filled with thorns. I agree with Crazy Love in that as American Christians, we do want God, but we also want so many other things in life like money, careers, respect, relationships, etc. I have to admit that no matter how much I say I prioritize God in my life, I cannot honestly declare that I love Him so much that I am willing to give up food or comfort or my career or my family. Of course, these things may not be inherently evil in themselves, but when they take up our time and attention from God, are we able to cut them our of our lives?
In what ways are you a lukewarm Christian?
What verse jumped out the most at you in this chapter?
What changes will you make in your life based off of your reaction to this chapter?
-- written by Jon
I totally agree with you Jon... This chapter really shook me in a way that felt uncomfortable and made me get on my knees and pray.
ReplyDeleteSomething that really convicted me was when Francis Chan said, "Lukewarm people are continually concerned with PLAYING IT SAFE; they are SLAVES TO THE GOD OF CONTROL. This focus on safe living keeps them from sacrificing and risking for God." I recently realized that some of my idols are SAFETY and COMFORT. I always assumed that this was an innate human desire for self-preservation... after all, we all learned about survival of the fittest, right? But demanding safety and comfort have been huge obstacles, hindering me from living a radical life for God. I was never much of a risk taker because I was always afraid of losing... losing money, losing my friends, losing my life, losing my reputation. I'm still praying about this because I don't want to waste my life, my short time here on Earth. If God is convicting me and calling me to do something crazy, I want to be go and just respond with, YES.
angela - i also struggle with issues of trying to preserve myself - safety & comfort are so attractive, along with plain old laziness sometimes...
ReplyDeletebut i am helped out of this lethargy by Paul's words, "...whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him..." (Phil.3:7-9)
with each new morning, may Christ be the most attractive thing to us, as we spend our lives giving back to God a tiny portion of what He lavishes on us.