On Not Living the Christian Life (continued)

October 8, 2009

Dear Fellow Travelers,
It is my sincere prayer that you can now see the sheer impossibility of your living the Christian life, not to mention the utter foolishness of thinking that God accepts your “doing your best” as being sufficient for acceptance into His family. If doing our best were sufficient for our justification, then Jesus could have avoided His entire trip to this sinful earth, as we would not have needed Him.
Throughout my years in ministry, both as a pastor and a counselor, I have noticed that many people honestly believe they are doing quite well, when it comes to obedience to God, to living the Christian life. It is as if they wear a merit badge sash, fully decorated with the badges of obedience, similar to the one I used to wear as a Boy Scout. Just to clear the air: try as we might, none of us could ever earn a “merit badge” of obedience, and we can-not because God’s standard is perfection and our best efforts fall short—far short.
Even so, it has been the obvious mission of the leaders of the church not only to teach, but also to encourage its members to live the Christian life. Sadly, it does not have one record, not even one, where it has been successful. You think about that. Throughout all the years of the church’s existence, there is not one shred of evidence that it has been successful in this mission—not one!
Oh, I am sure it could provide us with many examples of those who have done, or are doing, their best, but that is simply not good enough. Even the couple who spent 50 years in ministry to the pigmies in the jungle of Africa didn’t do nearly enough. The man who sold all of his possessions and used the money to feed the poor of Ethiopia didn’t even get to first base. The evangelist who won 250,000 people to Jesus didn’t get one vote of approval from the Committee of Three. The lady who taught Sunday School for 60 years, came up 60 years short of the goal (at least!).
Will we ever learn that Jesus did not come to teach us how to live the Christian life? He came to rescue us from sin and death, to give His life in exchange for ours, to impute His righteousness to us as a gift of grace, and to deliver us from the kingdom of darkness and transfer us to the Kingdom of Light. He came not to give us life (though He did!), but to be our life!
Who in the wide world started the ridiculous rumor that He came to model for us “how to” live the Christian life? Folk, He came to die, so we could die, so He could live in and through us.
Maybe the Psalmist got it: “Cease striving (let go, relax) and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NASB; emphasis and parenthesis added).
Yes, I will continue this tomorrow—