Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Sincerely Walking with Christ

Mike's sermon on the 15th was great. I'm sure people who heard it had a different takeaway. For me what had me thinking, and still has, was the point about a sincere walk with Christ, and part and parcel of that walk is the question of good works. Sometimes I get this haunting feeling that our focus on good works misses the mark, and particularly as it has to do with our walking with Christ. Now in no sense am I suggesting good works are not exactly that – good works. People are being helped and all such wonderful things – and hopefully the good works display His light – and I'm not suggesting good works should not be on our radars. But what if we saw good works as merely events along the journey? What if we understood the good works were not the measuring stick of the sincerity of our walking? Is it possible the measure of good works won't really count for much, if anything, when it comes to that time?
What if we understood our walk as becoming more Christlike? In 1 Peter 4:1-2, we are urged, "therefore since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in the body is done with sin. As a result he does not live out the rest of his earthly life for human desires but rather for the will of God." What is that attitude we are to arm ourselves with? We see that attitude in the Garden of Gethsemane. In Matthew 26:39b Jesus reveals that attitude as the ultimate reason for his coming, "Not as I will, but as you will."
Frankly good works are all over both by believers and non- believers, and telling the difference is very hard for us, though for Jesus He sees through all the facades and rationalizing we do, in Matthew 7:21-23 (the Message), "knowing the correct password – saying 'Master, Master' for instance – isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience – doing what my Father wills. I can see it now – at the final judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying 'Master, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking' and do you know what I am going to say? You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important."
Next up I will do some thinking about that attitude and what it means for doing good works and bearing fruit down the road.