I've been there and done that. Thus, I feel okay to speak on the subject. I'm not proud of having made excuses for my relationship with Jesus. No one should be. The truth is that when I've caught myself doing this it's usually been because I want something. Whether that be a friendship, a job promotion, a relationship, or just to be at peace with others. I have no excuse for not standing up for my faith. None. Maybe you have made excuses for your faith as well? Let's look at some of the elements that come into play. First, we don't want to offend anyone. Especially someone we like, want to like, or know either in a personal or professional setting. What we do when we make the excuse is compromise the witness of that which saved our souls. Compromising our witness doesn't equate to not being saved. Rather, the association is that what we want is more important that what we have in Jesus. In this world of political correctness Christians are caught by their own desire to be "a part of" by placing their faith on the side table at home when they go out to anyplace other than church. Again, I've done that. Shame comes to play right about here. We are sitting there in our sin of denying Christ (much like Peter) when someone with whom we have downplayed our faith to comes asking for spiritual advice. What do we do? Pass on the job to someone else? Ignore the chance to give advice? Or do we step over the line and step up to the challenge erasing all excuses we have made for our faith in the past.
While I was a young police officer my wife and I were invited to a New Years Eve party. I had to work swing shift but went to the party after I was off work. I had the habit of taking off my uniform shirt and other equipment but kept on my police pants and boots. When I walked into the party people were happy to see me until they realized what I represented. I saw people putting down their drinks, people suddenly having to leave the party and my wife was very embarrassed. My representation was ruining the party so I decided that I needed to leave so my friend could have their party without the downer I was causing. Here is part of the situation. It was a party made up of Christians. We were all okay with drinking alcohol. My friend didn't ask me to leave. But my witness of law enforcement was all it took for the cold water to be dumped and resulting problems. I have talked about this event many times because there is a valuable lesson here. If you cannot be true to who you are, what you do, and what you say; then you don't have a secure sense of who you are. Being called by Christ first to salvation and later to service, we are asked to be an emissary for Christ. In order to do that we need to come before people, into our jobs, and into our communities fully dressed in Christ. Do you? Do I? Not always.
The biggest reason we make excuses for our faith in Jesus is the whole issue being faced to do what Jesus wants us to do regardless of the cost. If that means living a life that offends others, then you are in good company as the Gospel is offensive to those who are perishing. Christianity is all or nothing. Either we stand for Christ or we stand against Christ. Our lack of surrender surfaces when we behave in such a manner that we make excuses for our faith. When you and I take our love of Jesus seriously we don't want to be offensive to Jesus. Yet, that's what happens when we make excuses. Is our relationship with Jesus the most important one in our life? If we make excuses for our faith then it's not. Why do we sit by and let people choose to spend eternity in hell? I'm not talking about the stranger in Canada or the third world country. I'm talking about our wives, children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, extended family, our pastors and many others who are perishing. Yes, I did say pastors. They too make excuses for their faith. The final question that is begged is whether or not we actually are saved if we are making excuses for our faith. Some pastors make a point to let you know that it's okay to be what the world wants. That's an excuse to represent evil rather than good. Some churches have embraced sin as no longer being sin so that people can feel comfortable. We shouldn't be comfortable in our sin!
All said and done, it's your choice just as it is mine. Will I make excuses for why I love Jesus today? Will you? It's your choice.
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