The article entitled,
“Check Up for Church Members,”
was in a recent church bulletin. These questions were adapted from that
article.
- How many
morning services would we have if everyone stayed home when I do?
- How often would
there be Bible classes if others would attend only when I do?
- How much
Christian instruction would the children of my community receive if
other parents would pay only as much attention to it as I do?
- How many
neighbors would be invited to services and welcomed if others would
invite and welcome only as many people as I do?
- How many
prayers would be offered for the minister, my neighbors and the church
if others would pray only as much as I do?
- How many
statements would be made about Christ if others only spoke out for Him
as much as I do?
- What kind of church would the church be
if every member were just like me?
Another article
entitled, “What If…,” was in a church
bulletin several years ago. These were some of the questions asked:
- What if
everyone knew what you know about
the Bible and studied it as much or as little as you do? Would they
know what one must do to become a Christian and then remain faithful as
a child of God? Would they (like you) be maturing and growing
spiritually, or would they be on a decline?
- What if
everyone sang during worship as you
do?
- What
if everyone sought to be involved
in the Lord’s work (or escape from being involved) just as
you regularly do?
- What if everyone possessed
the same attitude about others as you do?
- What if
everyone tried to lift and encourage
others, contacted others, spoke positive words to fellow laborers just
as you do?
If everybody in the
church was just like me, what kind
of a church would it be? Have we ever given any serious thought to what
it
means to be members of the Lord’s church? Have we ever given
any serious
contemplation to God’s description of us as living stones?
The apostle Peter
said we are to desire the pure milk
of the Word as newborn babes that we may grow, if indeed we have tasted
that
the Lord is gracious. Then he says, “Coming to Him as to a
living stone
rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as
living
stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to
offer up
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”
(1 Peter 2:4-5).
What a noble upward
calling we have through Jesus
Christ our Lord! God’s expectations of us are the highest and
the best because
He gave the dearest and the best to die for us that we might live with
Him
eternally. That hope of eternal life is dependent upon our obedient
faith in
response to the sacrifice of our Lord.
On one occasion,
God’s prophet told Asa, the king of
Judah, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout
the whole earth, to
show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to
Him” (2
Chronicles 16:9a).
Loyalty is defined as
being faithful to one’s
sovereign, government or state; to be faithful to one’s oath
or obligations; or
faithful to any person or thing conceived as deserving fidelity. This
definition is most appropriate in describing the relationship that is
to exist
between God and us as His children.
Our
fervor
for worship, attendance, giving of ourselves and our monetary means,
sharing
the message of the Gospel, visitation and encouragement, benevolence or
anything
else is dependent upon just how true and
authentic Christ is in our lives! Jesus put the ultimate
challenge before
us when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and
take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
We have got to
understand that Christianity is a daily
involvement. We cannot put our lives on automatic pilot and hope they
will end
up where they need to be. As one good brother has stated, taking up our
cross
is just that, it’s taking up
our
cross not putting up with our
cross.
The decision is ours. Psalm 53:2 says, “God looks down from
heaven upon the
children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek
God.”
The words of a song
ask a most pointed question: “Must
Jesus bear the cross alone and all the world go free?” The
answer comes ringing
back: “No, there’s a cross for everyone and
there’s a cross for me! When we
serve God with a loyal heart and a willing mind, we can be confident if
everybody in the church were just like us, the church would be filled
with
devoted, trustworthy, dependable, dedicated and committed people.
We can then say with
Paul, “For the love of Christ
compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all
died; and
He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for
themselves, but
for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians
5:14-15).
