5-29-06
The church needs to be involved in the world. Our primary goal is to
carry out Christ’s command to evangelize and disciple, no doubt about
that. However, Christ had much to say about our involvement in the
world as to how to treat people, how to help people, and how to look to
taking care of our own place in that world. I do not think these are
separate –service is an integral part of the evangelizing mission. The
sole purpose is not, though, just to get the recipients’ attention by
helping them so we can then provide the only thing they really need
which is salvation. Jesus fed the crowds after He gave them the
message, strongly implying that feeding them was itself a good thing.
Maybe He hoped the Gospel would actually get their attention so they
could properly enjoy the food – eating to the glory of God!
Salvation is not only about getting our sins forgiven so we can avoid a
horrible fate. The horrible fate definitely gets our attention but the sale
closer is supposed to be the overflowing life that we are offered. Sin has
spoiled life and we can have it restored – that’s good news! Too many
Christians see the gospel as leaving the pleasant life because God is
against it. The good life is sinful so we must repent of it and turn to God
so we can avoid Hell. Live the good life now and get hell later and it lasts
forever, so we must in effect go through hell now so we can have
heaven later which also lasts forever and is hence the only rational
choice – made difficult only by our lack of propensity to delay
gratification.
That idea is backward to Christ’s gospel presentations. Jesus’ idea goes
more like this: sin is keeping you from the good life now and forever.
Repent of sin, “…and have streams of living water flow from within
you!” I cannot tell you exactly all that streams of living water might be,
but it sure sounds like Jesus thought it would be good – really good.
And, it sounds like what is supposed to happen even now! I think the
main thing it involves is God living through us and with us – again, now
and forever.
Sin is pleasurable – often extremely so – but it is not good. It is never
good. Becoming the (secondary) source of streams of living water is
pleasurable too – and it is good! There is only one who is good and He
encompasses all of life. So, we help people toward good and that means
toward the only one who is good and the sole source of good. Food is
good, water is good, fellowship is good, shelter is good, celebration is
good, and much more is good when rightly viewed and rightly used. In
fact, we go a long way toward teaching people how to worship when we
teach them how to relate to God’s good gifts but God may often desire to
pass those good gifts through us, allowing them to engage in the worship
about which we have taught them.
God’s gifts without God become a curse because without God their use
will always be sinful. God without His gifts would not be our God
because that idea changes who He is: the giver of all good gifts.
Dale
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