Romans 9:30-33 (The Message and TNIV)
Bookmark. Highlight. Circle. Underline. Double-underline. Do whatever you have to do to remember the truth of todays reading - primarily v.32.
Here Paul uncovers one of the largest hijacks of the Christian faith, and it's as real today as it was for the Romans here. Those who don't pursue righteousness are the ones that fully embrace God's activity in their lives, while those who spend their lives trying to read about, study, debate, explain and understand this faith actually miss out on it because they miss the very God they are trying to serve. Their activities busy them up so much that they totally miss God in the process. Their faith becomes something it was never intended to be. They spend their days going from bible study to bible study, reading spiritual blog after spiritual blog, praying for everyone on facebook, listening to christian radio, wearing christian clothes, volunteering at their churches, taking their kids to church, decorating their homes with christian decorations and immersing themselves in a christian subculture, but lay down at night wondering if God really loves them. They hope that they have positioned themselves in a way that God will smile at them and tell them "well done" some day.
I see the problem, not with any of the activities I have listed, but with the thought process that gets us there and keeps us there. In our list of core practices for the Christ-follower, we make a distinction that leads us to God rather than simply more activity. We pray to God to know him... We study the bible to know God... We worship God for who He is... We focus on God and His priorities... We give away our lives to fulfill God's purposes... We know our gifts to accomplish God's purposes... We fellowship with other Christ-followers to accomplish His purposes... We give away our money to fulfill God's purposes... We give away our time to fulfill God's purposes... We give away our faith to fulfill God's purposes. We may not always be successful, but the goal for our practices is never about us and always about Him. If we pray for us, we miss God and stumble. if we give away our lives so people see how giving we are, we miss God and stumble. If we pray to get what we want, we miss God and stumble.
Seth Godin wrote this morning that "Throwing is more important than catching. If you're good at throwing, the catching takes care of itself." Our motives are our throwing. If our motives are right, the fruit will take care of itself. You need a job, pray, but pray to know God and then the job will take care of itself. You want to serve, serve to accomplish His purposes, and the joy we get in that will take care of itself.
Any thoughts on your side this morning? These are a few of mine, but I'd love to hear yours.
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