If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you will know that I am a Christian…one who has been “driven to my knees” by the trials of my life, but have endeavored to build my personal relationship with Christ and stay committed to Him.  So the title of this blog post would seem provocative, especially coming from me.  But I encourage you to continue to read to get the full context and my perspective behind the title.

An Observation

This morning while preparing for Sunday church service, I did something I hadn’t done in a long time…watch the national news for more than five minutes.  I usually watch a sermon on TV or listen to a gospel station while I’m getting dressed.  But this morning I decided to catch up on what was happening.  After watching both “conservative” and “liberal” leaning stations, I was quickly reminded why I had reduced my time watching the news.

Over the past three years since the presidential campaign and election, I’ve witnessed a growing division, not only in this country among secular citizens, but sadly among professing Christians.  Within the Christian community:

• Conversations have shifted from an exchange of ideas to personal attacks.
• We vilify the “other” guys.
• People now talk about and focus on the assumed motives of the “other party” instead of the facts of a given incident.
• We excuse, ignore, dismiss or tolerate wrong behavior of “our” party and switch the focus and discussion on the bad behavior of the “other” party.
• We identify more with a political party than with the church of Jesus Christ.

And as we continue down this path, we say to a dying world:

• Political, social and racial identity is more important than our Christian identity.
• “Church” is just a Sunday morning social activity that gives us a little emotional boost for the week.

In short we say with a loud voice: Christ is not enough.

And while we “hold hands” with the secular world in prioritizing our attacks on the “other guys”:

• Families fall apart
• Our children go to school with the thoughts of mass shooting in the back of their minds
• Our jails and prisons become more full
• Christians walk away from Christ due to the trials of life, with no Christ-centered support system
• False (and sometimes crazy) doctrines proliferate
• Our children become accustom to behavior and ideas that were intolerable just a generation ago. (A new “normal” is being established.)

And a multitude of other problems, including people dying and spending eternity in hell without the knowledge of and experience of the love of Christ.  Christians…this is insane.  We will be held accountable.  The examples we are providing and the fruit we are baring, supposedly in the name of Christ, is like the apples I used to occasionally find on my grandfather’s farm…rotten, putrid and full of worms.

What’s The Problem?

So what’s the problem?  What’s the root cause of our messaging that dishonors Christ?  I think its a heart issue.

In Matthew 7:13 – 14, Jesus tells us that the gate that leads to eternal life is narrow.  Later on in Matthew 7:21 – 23, Jesus says, “Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of Heaven…”(NASB)  Even though they did the work of the church, He will declare, “I never knew you…”

Again in Luke 13:22 – 27, the same message is conveyed…the gate is narrow and some will be left knocking.

In Luke 13:24, Jesus tells us to “strive” to enter through the narrow door.  The word “strive” comes from the same root word from which we get “agony”, meaning to “to endeavor with strenuous zeal, strife“.

Christians, do you “strive” or “endeavor with strenuous zeal” your personal pursuits in knowing Christ and representing Him?  Or are you casual in your approach?  Do you think, “Well, I go to church regularly.  I do read my Bible some, so I am growing in knowledge.  I think I’m doing okay.  I’ve never robbed a bank or committed murder.”

All those things are good, but they should be driven by the passion of your heart…a desire to get close to and wrap your arms around Christ, daily.  Read the passage about the woman with the “issue of blood” (KJV), Mark 5:24 – 34. Jesus had a crowd pressing around Him.  This one woman who was “spent” financially, physically and emotionally, “strived” to get to Jesus.  Faith in Christ confirmed in her heart that she would be healed if she touched His garments…not His arm or shoulder or hand, just His garments.  She was ceremonially unclean, and should have stayed away from crowds, but she “strived” to get to Jesus.

Notice in verse 29, she was healed immediately after she touched His garments.  Her “striving”, reflecting the condition of her heart, stopped Jesus in verse 30.  The people crowding all around Him didn’t stop Him…it was a “striving” heart of faith that got His attention.  Other examples of “striving hearts” are seen in Mark 2:1 – 13 (the friends of the paralytic man going through the roof of someone’s home to get to Jesus), Mark 5:21 – 23 (Jarius fell at His feet), Mark 10:46 – 52 (Blind Bartimaeus was persistent in his crying out to the Lord).

Christians, what’s in your hearts?  The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18 – 20) commands us to “make disciples”.  Discipleship is “helping someone to progressively learn the Word of God to become a matured follower of Christ“.  It is a full time job to help others progressively become mature.  “Others” may include people who voted for the “other” party, or belong to that “other” racial group.  Do you love Christ enough to obey His command?  Or do you add qualifiers and conditions to your obedience?  Even if you “quietly” add qualifiers, your heart speaks volumes to the Lord.

Current political issues are important, but should they cause such division in the church that Christ is, at best, misrepresented or even invisible in our lives?  Again what message are we communicating to the world?  In Matthew 15:17 – 19, Jesus tells us that what comes out of our mouths is a reflection of our hearts.  This is what “defiles” us and sends the message we are sending.  In the meantime, the world goes “to hell in a hand basket” taking our children with them.

Solution

If we “strive” in obedience to Christ, “strive” to be fruitful using the gifts, talents and resources He’s given us, “strive” to be led by the Holy Spirit, He will know us, in reference to Matthew 7:21 – 23.  The question is not so much, “Do you know Jesus?”, but more importantly for the Christian, “Does Jesus know you?”

Christians, let’s get our hearts right before the Lord.  As we “strive” daily, we will send the right message to a hurting, dying world…Jesus is more than enough.