When we talk to people about how they can change their world, a common response is “I’m not ready for that yet.”There is a tremendous sense of inadequacy. Indeed, we are all beset by sins and failures, fears and temptations. We keep hoping to get a grip on this thing called Christianity.
But being a Red Letter Believer means that you take on the words of Christ and you begin to not just believe in them, but you begin to live them out – not later, but today. When you begin to live them, you will see the world around you change. Those precious Words can redeem our schools, our workplaces, our governments and our planet.
Paul had a similar conversation with some first-century believers. He acknowledged all the excuses in 1 Cor 1:26-29.
“Not many of you were wise by human standards.
Not many of you were influential.
Not many were of noble birth”
Well, that sums up most of the Christians I know. We are a ragtag group of nobodies.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world…
He chose the weak things of the world...
He chose the lowly and despised things of the world…”
Basically, we are without excuse, because we didn’t choose God. He chose us.
Things are pretty bleak out there. Wars. Weather. Terrorism. Anger. Dispair. It’s all around us and there is urgency for God’s elect to redeem the culture – to change the world.
Your not adaptable? Sure you are, because your God is!
Let it start today with me, with you.
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7 Comments so far, click here to add your own:
You mentioned inadequacy. I think that is what holds me back many times. Also the idea of "well who are you to....
I have to remind myself that by going out to help hold up the standard is not proclaiming that I have it all together. I'm just trying to help keep things from being worse.
Does this not happen a lot in our lives -- fear of change and what result that change might bring? It seems that if there is too much unknown, then the risk of the unknown outweighs the benefits of the change and...it paralyzes us into not making a change.
In what I do -- financial advising and planning -- I see this more often than I care to admit. We work with a client to help them reach there financial goals and dreams -- we are often in violent agreement on the goal(s) and what it takes to acheive the goal(s). Yet, there is inaction...Why? In my view, this occurs often because of the life changes required to make those dreams a reality and the clients are not yet ready to make those changes. I discussed this with a client (a couple) of mine one day and they said, "Eric, we think you just have to be ready to do it."
At some point, you must be ready to accept a call or to change your life. The questions then become: Will you follow now that you are ready? and, Are you ever fully ready?
I guess those answers are different for all of us.
The great thing about being, or becoming, a follower of Christ is that you only have to change one thing - that's everything - but we're not expected to become contortionists in the process. He starts with us where we are because He sees us as we will be, a vision denied to us (our God is a wise God, after all :) )
Recently I was a keynote speaker to a business group: Delivering Value in a Down Economy. The research and the q&A of the group convinced me that we will do whatever it takes if we see the value in the mission calling for change/purchase/readjustment, etc.
My prayer is mainly for Holy Spirit to keep working on giving me the mind of Christ so that I can "see" the value in whatever the adjustment He desires me to make for this step in my journey with Him.
If crisis hits we get it! We know what we value and we adjust instantly. So with the mind of Christ we will have that discernment and we will value all as He does.
What great words! Sure, we all feel inadequate from time to time. I suppose that's the point--we can do nothing apart from Him, but with Him we can change the world.
Interesting idea implied by that picture. When does adaptation become something that contorts us into a grotesque freakshow?
So many of are so adaptable, we do become 'twisted.' Good point Marcus!
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