Lately, there are some things that have been troubling me, so much so that I can't really get them off of my mind. These areas that trouble me surround the teachings of Jesus and how I succeed or fail in following His commands. It seems to me that as a Christian I spend a lot of time agreeing with other Christians that Jesus' teachings are true and worthy to be followed, but instead of obeying His commands I prefer to sit and just glory in the salvation that Jesus won for me on the cross. How selfish!
In the "Sermon on the Mount" in the New Testament book of Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus reveals to us the heart and soul of the doctrine that He came to deliver. These words were delivered to His followers, so they were intended for the believer so that he/she could apply them in the real world. Jesus tells us in this sermon that we are to avoid murderous and lustful thoughts, prevent divorce, love our enemies and turn to nonviolence to solve our problems, give to the poor and needy, and avoid materialism (that's not all of His teaching in this passage, just some of the key ones that stick out to me). I am troubled by these teachings, not because I have trouble believing them, but rather because I realize how seldom I follow them. I am also troubled because I fail to see many of our churches leading their people to follow them. Instead, we throw money in the offering plate in hopes that it will be used to fulfill Jesus' commands and we shake our heads at social injustices, yet we do so very little on a direct level to apply these truths to our daily actions.
If I have painted you in a way that is incorrect, then I am sorry. Maybe you are one who can rejoice in his/her salvation while at the same time look out for the least of these in our world that is inconsistent with Jesus' teachings. But I would venture that most of us would be the kind of people who agree with these concepts, yet find ourselves doing very little to see that they are accomplished. Our world is begging to see the relevance in Christianity. They care very little about what we do behind closed doors on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Instead, they want to see Jesus in action. For that to happen, they need to see His people (starting with myself) obeying His commands and living out what they hear on Sundays.
1 comment:
I am in the same boat man. I love reading but I seldom find myself living it out. I am bothered by this a lot, thanks for the insight. By the way. HOW ABOUT THEM GATORS! 2006 National Champs. Quick question too, how do you add flavoring to coffee? Like maybe a hazelnut?
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