I feel like the most inconsistent blogger ever. But the truth is, I often think "hey, I should post something on my blog", but then I open up a new post and my mind goes blank. Throughout the day, at work, I often think of something that I'd like to share on my blog, but then by the time I actually get home from work, the idea seems irrelevant.
But this, this I have to talk about. Because I work most weekends, I don't get around to going to church much. I think I've been to church 3 times in the last 3 months. It's a shame because I really miss it. But anyway, because of this, I've been listening to messages online from the church that my parents go to. For the last month or so, this church has been doing a message series on Jesus. So far, I've only listened to the first message... and I was astonished by how much I was challenged by it.
How many times in your life have you heard the phrase 'it's all about Jesus'? This is an absolute truth, but Christians have made it into a cliché. A cliché is an expression that has lost its effectiveness by being overused. We've used the phrase 'it's all about Jesus' so many times that we've lost the true meaning of it. We toss this phrase around so flippantly and then go on to live lives that are actually all about ourselves, not all about Jesus.
Then the pastor showed us an example of a life that was actually 'all about Jesus'. This was the life of Paul. "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8) Paul gave up everything just to know Jesus. Because the worth of knowing Him is far greater than the worth of anything else. But the sad thing is, we've even made this verse a cliché. We go around preaching this verse to other people, then we go and live for the rubbish. Do you know what rubbish is? It's garbage, it's junk, it's waste. The King James Version of the Bible even calls it dung. Is that really worth more than knowing Christ?
I think the reason many of us have come to live this way is because we've reduced Christianity to a set of doctrines. Do this, and don't do that, pray like this, and don't pray like that, behave in this way, and don't behave in that way... and you'll get to heaven. But the thing is: heaven isn't the goal. Getting into heaven isn't why we're Christians. I've been around way too many people who believe that heaven is the goal in their Christian walk. And a lot of these people seem very legalistic to me.
Heaven isn't the goal, loving God is the goal. Being in relationship with Jesus is the goal.
Which commandment is the most important of all? "Jesus answered, 'Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:29-30)
"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." (John 15:10-11)
