The Elephant In The Room

We need to stop. We need to confess. And we need to repent. We are not giving people the full picture of what it means to follow Christ. We, in turn, are pulling the Gospel bait-and-switch. "Come to Jesus and your live will be worry free and prosperous." "You will experience the favor of God over all that you possess." "You will have an abundant life."

We have taken the aspect of conflict and suffering out of the Christian life. Let me stop you now: if you are a Christian, there is a VERY strong possibility that you will experience pain, hardship, rejection, and suffering in this life! Jesus does not wave a magic wand over you and say "Problems be gone" when you accept him. In fact the Bible says that all that live godly in Christ Jesus Shall suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12).

Let's see: Jesus came to his own but his own did not receive him; he had the large crowds that followed him turn away when he explained the full implications of being his disciple (John 6); his own family questioned his credentials; need we talk about the beating he took before his death at the hands of the jealous. Paul went through many similar things, eventually being put to death.

The American Gospel and Prosperity Gospel have polluted the church so much so that we treat the Bible like a good movie. We read it, get choked up and maybe even shed a tear. But then we close it up and go about our day unfazed and unchanged. We expect and consider material blessing to be the sign of God's favor in our life. That simply is not true. Do you not know that for the first 300 years of the church Christians were on the run, being persecuted, killed, falsely accused of criminal acts, and considered threats to governments? Read Hebrews 11 to see who God considers to be the heroes of the faith. They all had one thing in common: they considered this world and its riches and trappings merely a stop on the way to somewhere better, heaven. They did not seek heaven on earth, but to represent the heavenly king and kingdom on earth. They (as we should also) sought the well being of others, the salvation of the souls of women and men, the setting of captives free, and the glory of God. When you do these things it puts you at odds with people, businesses that profit through the exploitation of others, unjust institutions, and the devil and his followers. That is where the trouble originates!

The issue is this: if you go all out and live with every ounce of your being for Christ, you will experience conflict. If you pour out every drop of your soul for Jesus, you will experience trouble. If you pick and choose what you will or won't do for the Lord you are deceiving yourself about what it means to follow Christ. Does it require all of that? Yes it requires all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. But God has promised us that it is worth it all in the end.

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

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