Over on Vitamin Z’s blog, I ran into this quote by Matt Chandler, pastor of the Village in Texas:
“Ladies how many bible studies are we going to do, I am just saying, can we maybe run some of the plays instead of just studying them? Men, how many bible studies we gonna do, how much you going to study before you start to play? I mean that’s what makes the thing so stupid down here. Everybody can talk it, nobody wants to engage anybody with it. Or at least very few of us do. Why? Well cause I have a lust issue. Well OK, submit to Christ, get in recovery, and live on mission, it will reveal all that stuff, it will be horrible, God will just rip it out of you and replace it with His grace and mercy, it will be awesome in the end. I mean if you’re waiting till you’re perfect to live life on mission you’re going to die without much mission. It’s coming! Do you get this? Do you get that 2000 years ago, in fact farther back than than He told Abram, “This is how it’s going down.” and it has stayed true to the line right up till now where a massive portion of Africa has become believers, a massive portion of China has become believers, South America blowing up with the gospel. The gospel is penetrating the world, do you know how this ends? With you and me in front of Him with the Kingdom of God, new heaven, new earth coming down, no more injustice, no more pain, no more sorrow, God’s redeemed, God’s elect, God’s Kingdom, Kingdom of God, established! Now do you think anybody is going to give a trash how much money you have right now? How much comfort you have right now? Who’s cool and who’s not? Who drove what and who didn’t? Who was well liked in the neighborhood and who wasn’t? You think ANY of that is going to matter? No one will care! But a lot of people will embarrassed.”“Ladie
It nailed me, folks. Any of you that are regular guests round here (that means the three of you) know that this is an issue that I struggle with. My buddy Kevin posted on this here, and I think he sums up my thoughts well.
Bottom line, people: do we really believe the Gospel? Do we? Do we live it out? Or are we content to warm our pew on Sunday, do our daily devotions, go through the routine of daily life, while people all around us are dying and going to Hell. Forever. And if we are, do we not need to think very long and hard about Jesus’ words in Matthew 25:31-45 about the marks of a true follower of Christ?
If you’re not humbled by Chandler’s words above, I think you need to check your heart. I read them this morning, and have been turning them over and over in my head all day. And yet…have I done anything today any different than normal?
Let the church of God arise, and begin acting like who she really is!!!
The Wading Pool 