So Divine

The last few days, I've been reading the book Crazy Love and thinking about it a lot. It's an amazing book, really. Besides the Bible it's probably one of the most convicting books I've ever read. Probably the most convicting part is an area that talks about being luke-warm; whether or not there is such a thing as a luke warm Christian. This is such a powerful section because our American society has made Christianity into such a religion. We've convinced people and even ourselves that all we need to do is pray the 'sinner's prayer' and 'become Christians' and that's our ticket into Heaven. You know that children's song, "Acts 1, 2, and 3"? It goes something like this:
Act one: Seek Jesus,
Act two: Believe,
Act three: Live for Christ and serve Him faithfully...

But we've entirely left out the second and third steps. We tell people to 'ask Jesus into their hearts' without putting emphasis on the fact that it isn't just the prayer, it's the belief in your heart; and that faith, if real, will manifest itself out in a tangible way that results in godly living.

If you read the gospels, Christ says that we're to go make disciples. He says that anyone who won't take up their cross to follow Him cannot be His disciple. He says not to even waste time burying the dead, but to follow Him as soon as we seek Him and let the dead bury their own dead. He says anyone who is ashamed of Him will not be known by Him when the Father is judging. He says the ones who love Him will obey Him. He says that those who try to look good on the outside without caring what their hearts are truly like are like white-washed tombs that look beautiful but are filled with dead people's bones. He says that if you aren't willing to sell everything you have to follow Him, you can't follow Him at all. He says not to store up treasures on earth, but treasures in Heaven. He says that if you're burdened, you should give it all to Him. He says that when the world opposes you, to remember Him, because they opposed HIM first and HE has overcome the world! He says to love your enemies and pray for those who hurt you. He says that anyone who didn't help the least of these didn't help Him. He says you can't serve money and Him.

How much more radical can you be?

Jesus was radical. He wasn't like anyone else in history. All other teachers and religions have taught that you need to be good enough; He taught that you can never be good enough-- and then He proved it by paying for the sins of those who would follow Him!

But look back over the section of 'He says.' He says all these things to us today. These weren't just things He told people in Scripture; these are commands for today. Yet we're content to just call ourselves Christians because 'that's our relgion' and we go to church for an hour on Sunday mornings. Jesus came to call sinners, of whom I am the worst, yet I'm content to do so little.

I don't want to admit it, but this is the plain honest truth: I often want to still be able to call myself a Christian and have assurance of my salvation without living super radically. I think something along the lines of, "If I don't talk to so and so about Jesus all the time, will He really be ashamed of me when judgment days comes?" When I think about that, I'm saddened because I realize just how bad my heart really is. I'm more concerned about still being a Christian than being totally sold-out for Jesus. I'm not concerned enough with having the same kind of crazy, all-consuming love that He had for me; I'd rather just stick with the comfortable, half-hearted love that I've indulged in for too long.

But we aren't called to be "Christians"; you know, those people who say they love Jesus but won't actually ever serve Him to a point where they have to sacrifice; we're called to let Christ rule our hearts and lives, being "little Christs" (the original meaning of the word "Christian," before it became so distorted by our materialistic, selfish culture).

It's that kind of love that demands my soul, my life, my all. It's a crazy kind of love.