If you don't want God more than you want anything else, you are not a Christian.I cringed. OK, I did more than that. I became angry. Really, really angry.
When I first started preaching, this kind of spiritual kick to the gut would have caused me to shout "Amen!" because, you know, I felt that this verse described me.
Here's the problem that I've come to realize. This verse doesn't describe me. It has NEVER described me.
Now, before some of you get hot around the collar and prepare an email to try to lead me to Jesus, let me just drop a bomb: it doesn't describe you either.
Sorry to burst your bubble. It doesn't. It doesn't describe the one who tweeted it either. I'd tell it to his face. I tried, on Twitter.
How I wish it were true. How I wish that sanctification and growth and discipleship were as clear-cut and as "neat" as tweets like this make it out to be. How I wish that I didn't struggle with sin continually. How I wish that I didn't struggle with focus, commitment, and effort in regards to my service to the Lord.
But I do. Every day. I thought that, after this long in the "ministry," preparation would be a breeze. When I was seventeen, I just knew that I would eventually reach a pinnacle where sermons just flow from my brain and heart like a mighty river.
They don't. I guess they're supposed to. I remember being told at one point, "You just need to stay in the Word, and you'll never run out of sermon material. You'll face the problem of having too many ideas!"
Oh, how I wish that advice were true. I'm starting to wonder if that preacher was just pulling my leg, knowing that I'd need to fall flat on my face a few times on Saturday Nights, begging the Lord for a message because I hadn't been able to come up with a single thing all week.
Enough about me. Let's talk about you. First, some of you are not nearly as spiritual or holy as you think you are. Like me, you pride yourself on all the things you do on the outside. You've turned your faith into a meritorious system. Maybe it's because some preacher has told you things like that tweet. Maybe you're the preacher telling people things like that tweet. Tweets like that sell books. Tweets like that fire us preachers up. We pride ourselves on firing spiritual bullets that knock everyone down. Either way, your faith has become all about "What Would Jesus Do?" rather than "What has Jesus Done." Law, law, law. "Do this, and live."
In contrast to the people who think they do measure up, some of you know you don't. You hear tweets like that and you despair. You're the ones that head to the altar every Sunday morning, fearful of whether you're really saved or not. You listen to preachers telling you what you should be doing, and you think, "My goodness, I am not like that. I must not be a Christian." So you spend most of your time doubting that you're a believer. Because, you know, real Christians want God more than anything else. Real Christians don't struggle with commitment. Real Christians are totally surrendered, on fire, and unconcerned with the enticements of "the world."
So you continue to struggle. Fearful and afraid, hoping that God will continue to give you second chances when you "rededicate your life" or whatever you promise Him through your tears.
Here's one I read just the other day. A nice tweet to encourage me to be a better spouse.
When we love God infinitely more than we love marriage, God is glorified and his worth is displayed to the world.That's true. That's absolutely true. But you don't love God that way. EVER. Neither do I. I can't measure up.
Does that mean I don't try? Of course I try. Everyday of my life I try to love God above everything else. Like Paul describes in Romans 12:1, I try to be a living sacrifice, crawling back upon the altar every time I slither off.
But my concern is one that Paul himself dealt with at Galatia:
Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? - Galatians 3:3 (NKJV)Based on the diet of preaching and teaching given to most Christians today, I would scream "YES!"
Based on the natural inclination of the human heart to make our faith about what we can do rather than what Jesus has already done, I would scream "YES!"
What's the remedy for this? You're not going to like it. It's two-fold. Sin and suffering. Yup, you have to sin and you have to suffer.
What I'm about to say may anger you. You may disagree with it. But it's true. Oh how it's true. You won't begin to get grace until you come to the end of yourself. This only happens through sin and suffering. You're going to have to screw up really bad or you're going to have to go through some pretty tough stuff. Sometimes both.
It's only at the end of yourself do you realize God's unmerited, unconditional love for you. It's only then do you realize that when Jesus said, "It is finished," He meant it. Only then do you realize that God is already pleased with you through His Son.
Grace doesn't become all you need until you realize it's all you have.
Ten years ago, my life verse would have been John 9:23 -
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”Now, in all honesty, my life verse is the very next one, John 9:24 -
Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”He doesn't have much. He's fearful and not terribly trusting. But He's counting on Jesus to make up the rest.
He did.
He will for you too.
Adam is a husband, father, preacher, and teacher
living in Mayfield, KY. You can follow him
or Facebook here.
On their latest album, "Welcome to the New," MercyMe chronicles their journey to a new understanding of grace and the believer's identity in Christ. I would like to encourage you to listen to this song. You can check out the lyrics here
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