Don't be a Christian for the Wrong Reasons

Last week, my mom, four sisters, and I drove through winding roads of pastures, hay fields, and houses.  Beautiful landscapes swept around us, greens of every color, trees.  We laughed at some of the funny road names, sang to the cd that played, and enjoyed the Saturday morning as we drove in search of a garage sale.

And then a different song began to play.  I listened and was caught by the words that a group of little children sang in praise to God.  Because I wondered if my life matched up to the lyrics.

So take a minute and listen to these lovely voices before reading on.

I Could Sing of Your Love Forever - Kids:  Joy.

The chorus repeats these two lines:

Let me be a shining light for You

Let me be a joy to You always

They're simple.  But as I was listening, I was caught on the last line, and I wondered if my life was a joy to God.

If Jesus looked down and saw me right now, would I be a joy to Him?  So many other words pop into mind.  Half-hearted?  Distracted?  Trying but failing anyway?  Going through the motions?

Am I a joy to Him always?

What about you?

 

Worship should be our life.  We worship by singing, dancing, playing an instrument.  But we also worship by being faithful, living in love, and sharing His truth.

I think we (including myself) often worship only half-way.  We think our quiet times, when we go to church, when we work on our ministry - those are worship.  And it's true.  But worship is called to be so much more.  Every single decision should be a joy to Jesus.  We should live lives of worship, not just those occasional moments (Philippians 4:4, John 4:24).

It reminds me that Christianity isn't a one-moment thing.  If you were adopted into a family, that doesn't just change your name.  It changes you - your decisions, your passions, your home.

Ephesians 1:5 says that we were adopted as Christ's sons.  That relationship needs to change every part of us.

Let every part of our lives bring Him praise.  That is worship.  That is a joy to Him.

Maybe the reason we don't have that simple joy and humility is because we're "christians" for the wrong reasons.

When I was ten, I remember coming to Mom in tears.  I really wanted to be a real Christian.  I wanted Jesus.  I wanted to be certain that I had Him.  I was scared that I didn't have enough faith or that I'd miss the point somehow.

But I also remember telling her that I wanted Jesus because I was afraid to go to Hell.  A relationship with Him was important to me, but, at that moment, I didn't feel like I had one.  So I started at the basics, and Mom told me that as I grew in Him and got to know Him as a divine Person, that emotion - the love for Jesus - would come.

I wonder how many people have stayed with the basics (which reminds me of this passage).  They are "christians" because it's comfortable.  Because it's popular and "saves them from Hell."

Don't be a Christian for the wrong reasons.

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God...

- Ephesians 2:8

 

Dear friend, why do you want Jesus?

If you go through the motions so you can have a good testimony, so you feel changed, so you get to Heaven... you're doing it all for the wrong reasons.  Christianity isn't about you at all.  It's about Him (Titus 3:5-6).  It's about a God who literally died for you because of Love (John 3:16).

Sure, you feel dry sometimes.  Maybe you don't "feel" Him.  But that's not the point.

Are our beliefs rooted in a deep love for a Person who gave His all for us?  Do we live every moment, breathe every breath, take every step to bring Him joy?  Or is this all about us?

If Love is what defines us, we'll worship even if we don't feel the emotions.  We'll seek Him even when He feels far away.  Because it's not about us.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

- Romans 12:1-2

What if we really were transformed to be like Him, if we presented our body as a living sacrifice ?  Can you imagine a world where Christians truly had Christ's agenda and loved as He loves?

There would be no inconvenience... because we'd realize that it was all part of His plan.  We couldn't be selfish, prideful, envious.  There'd be joy, thankfulness, love.

That's Christianity: living a life with the fruits of the Spirit because we are so full of Him that we simply cannot help but become like Jesus.

Dear friend, don't seek Jesus to find anything for yourself; seek Him to love Him more.

And, like the song proclaimed, let's become a joy to Him.  If Jesus looks at your life, is He proud, excited?  Or does He wonder why you're so consumed with other things?

Your life needs to revolve around Jesus.  Let yourself be a shining light for Him.

I don't have this mastered.  I daily forget, fail, and try again, and, right now, I laugh at God's perfect timing because I desperately needed this reminder again.

So how do we live this out in our daily lives?  Let's talk together in the comments, dear friend, as we press on towards Jesus.

Come further up, come further in!

- The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis

  

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.  For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law...

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

- Galatians 5:16-18, 22-25

~♥~