Then Jesus said . . . "whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for you to gain the whole world, yet forfeit your soul? What can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" (Matthew 16:25-26)
I often think we do people a great injustice by sugar-coating the path of Christianity. We call people into a faith in Jesus Christ as if it were a haven of comfort, safety and happiness where all their problems will suddenly be dissolved in a wonderland of goodness. They have no real idea of what they are getting into, or what they have really signed up for. Don’t get me wrong, there will be wonder and goodness beyond our wildest dreams as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and see Him for who He is. And there will be indescribable joy as we come into the Kingdom of Light and walk so closely and intimately with the Creator of the universe that we lose sight of where He begins and where we end, becoming like Him in heart and character more and more every day. But comfort and safety?
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer! For I have overcome the world. (John 16:33, AMP)
Jesus isn't calling us to a safe, comfortable life. He never promised that. He is calling us to risk everything to follow Him through a dark world that will mistreat and abuse us for our faith in Him. This is not a call to join a pleasant and upstanding social club, it's a call to rise up and shine a light into the darkness with no regard for our own safety. A call to stand firm through danger and difficulty, trusting only in the victory of His blood shed for us. It is a call to take our eyes completely off of ourselves, our plans, our dreams and put them squarely on Him and everything that He wants to accomplish in the world. It is a call to throw away our rights, abandon our reputations, to lay down our lives and allow ourselves to become carefully placed stepping stones on the path that will allow others to respond to the call.
I think it’s time we begin to present the facts openly and honestly as we witness to our communities and open the door of faith for others. Just maybe we underestimate them. Just maybe the reason we aren’t seeing more young people coming into the church isn’t because we haven’t offered them more exciting music or wowed them with our comfortable buildings. Maybe it’s because we haven’t given them a cause worth dying for. Maybe it’s because we haven’t told them that Jesus is worthy of laying down their lives for.
(These are the thoughts of Lorena Ferguson, founder of RESPOND Worship Ministry and grateful part of the Interlake Full Gospel Church where she finds strength and inspiration continually.)
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you will have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer! For I have overcome the world. (John 16:33, AMP)
Jesus isn't calling us to a safe, comfortable life. He never promised that. He is calling us to risk everything to follow Him through a dark world that will mistreat and abuse us for our faith in Him. This is not a call to join a pleasant and upstanding social club, it's a call to rise up and shine a light into the darkness with no regard for our own safety. A call to stand firm through danger and difficulty, trusting only in the victory of His blood shed for us. It is a call to take our eyes completely off of ourselves, our plans, our dreams and put them squarely on Him and everything that He wants to accomplish in the world. It is a call to throw away our rights, abandon our reputations, to lay down our lives and allow ourselves to become carefully placed stepping stones on the path that will allow others to respond to the call.
I think it’s time we begin to present the facts openly and honestly as we witness to our communities and open the door of faith for others. Just maybe we underestimate them. Just maybe the reason we aren’t seeing more young people coming into the church isn’t because we haven’t offered them more exciting music or wowed them with our comfortable buildings. Maybe it’s because we haven’t given them a cause worth dying for. Maybe it’s because we haven’t told them that Jesus is worthy of laying down their lives for.
(These are the thoughts of Lorena Ferguson, founder of RESPOND Worship Ministry and grateful part of the Interlake Full Gospel Church where she finds strength and inspiration continually.)
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