Do We Really Believe Or Are We Make Believe Christians?
Good Morning Friends,
We say the words that would suggest we believe in the fullness of life in Christ…that there is really one, holy catholic and apostolic church. That there is one God. We recite the attributes of God….the characteristics of the church in the creeds we profess. They are some of the most important affirmations of the Christian Faith. However, in reading today’s scripture I have to ask. Do We Really Believe Or Are We Make Believe Christians?
Scripture: For I want you to know how much I am struggling for you, and for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face. I want their hearts to be encouraged and united in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I am saying this so that no one may deceive you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I rejoice to see your morale and the firmness of your faith in Christ. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.
Colossians 2:1-2:12 (NRSV)
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.
John 9:35-38 (NRSV)
Jesus wept.
John 11:35 (NIV)
Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”
Matthew 25:34-40 (NRSV)
Message: Unity is a pretty difficult thing to negotiate. And yet we profess it as not only a statement of doctrine but as a word of praise, an act of worship in our creeds. They are words of purposeful praise if we believe them. For when we believe our affirmation tells a larger truth. If asked would you witness a belief that this unity of love will bless us with the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can be a blessing to others? Friends, I have found that when we believe our acts of kindness will have our spiritual energy that replenishes the love in our lives in ways that spills over into the lives of others. Here we experience God not so much in terms of a social consciousness but in the personal good news we share with another individual. I know for I have looked into the eyes a runaway child. I have gone into the jails to share the good news. I have fed the hungry and welcomed the refugee and the migrant. Here I discovered, and you can too, what the Kingdom of God intends for us. And it is to bear fruit for God’s Kingdom as we come into the presence of the King now and on that day of judgement. Here we are Christ’s fellow workers… for by serving others in Christ-like ways we light a spark in our own spiritual lives that in time spreads into our economic life and the very social institutions that we influence and most importantly into a relationship with God. When we discover that we do not take Christ into the lives of those in need but simply acknowledge His presence already there, then we become true disciples. Then we help others to give back. In these moments we bear His presence…in these moments we share the most precious gift in the world….the memory and witness of His presence when we believe and serve.
Pray that we are ready when God puts opportunities before us. Pray that we live life beyond ourselves. Pray that we dare to care. Pray that we have a heart for the poor. Pray that we discover we are ministering to Christ when we respond to the poor with the dignity, intimacy and knowledge that we are serving…suffering with Christ himself.
Pray
the Lord teaches us His way. Pray we learn to do good. Pray we realize that we are to be accountable. Pray we have a personal commitment to care for others. Pray we really believe. Pray the Lord give us the wisdom to understand the difference between saying and doing. Pray we have no vain talk. Pray we have no empty pretense of being Christian. Pray we realize that Jesus weeps because we fail to. Pray this day we awake to discover that that we too can be raised with him through faith in the power of God’s love shared. Pray we really believe.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 