Falling Off The Edge

Some of the kids and I went to the park in Milan the other day. Let me just say: What a great park! One of the children, who wishes to remain nameless, was always walking on the edge of the sidewalk or on the shoulder and falling off. After they had fallen off the edge multiple times, I said, “I am writing an article about you.” They were able to walk on the edge most of the time, but if a sibling pushed them or they were just not paying attention, they would easily fall off. Why? The sidewalk was big enough for four men my size to walk shoulder to shoulder and have enough room that we would not be on the edge.

What made that incident article-worthy you ask? I wonder how many people do this spiritually. They maybe are afraid to fully commit their whole life to Jesus. Maybe they enjoy the world so much but want to go to heaven when they have finished living it up in this life that they do their best to walk a tightrope of part-world, part-Jesus. Maybe they walk this way out of ignorance. I do not know all of the reasons people might do this, but I do not believe this is what Jesus calls us to. Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice in Romans 12:1. The issue with that is the pull of the world. So many of us struggle with this spiritual tug of war. Having enough of the world to satisfy our sinful desires but hopefully enough Jesus to go to heaven when we die. Jesus calls us to the abundant life in John 10:10, and I do not believe that life is the edge of the sidewalk or the fringes of Jesus.

The biggest issue is the falling off or away (1 Corinthians 10:12). For a Christian, falling away from God is a matter of an eternal home. Why walk on the edges of a relationship with Jesus when you could have the abundant life?

Knowing and Applying

I love to sing with the kids on Sunday night. If you have been there, you probably know we have been learning the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. I was talking to Nathan and Jack Wallace the other day, and Nathan was telling me that they were trying to put the fruit of the Spirit into practice. I laughed and said learning it is a lot easier than practicing it. What good is it if I know right but do not practice right? I can know two plus two is four, but if I put the answer as five on the test, I will miss it. I can know that my car needs gas to run, but if I do not put any in it, I will probably get stranded somewhere. James 1:22 says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

I am not saying it is wrong to grow in our knowledge of Jesus (2 Peter 3:18). In fact, we should, but that knowledge should be helping to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. So you know the fruit of the Spirit is not a cantaloupe (Nope, lol) but is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. How does that play out in your life on Monday morning, Tuesday lunch, or Friday night?

Do people see the fruit of the Spirit growing in my life when I encounter someone who is hard to love and not very kind? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my relationship with God and my fellow man, or do they just see drama? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my life when the line is long, the person is slow, or I am not getting my way? Do they see the fruit of the Spirit in my life when I am given tough choices between what Jesus says and wants versus what my flesh and the world desire? If we sing the song enough, we will learn the fruit of the Spirit, but will we apply it in our everyday lives?

Don't Forget

One of the biggest struggles I have with holidays is all the buildup for what seems like a couple of hours and then moving on from it before it is even over. I was reminded of that when someone told me right before or on Valentines’s Day that Walmart had already put out their Easter stuff. I just want to finish kissing my sweetheart before I start chasing rabbits. It happens with football. We are talking about the draft or free agency before the confetti has finished falling at the Super Bowl. We seem to move on before we finish what we were doing. I am not saying there is anything sinful about buying Easter candy on February 13th, but I wonder if this mentality has affected our disciple making. I read an article by Adam Faughn that triggered these thoughts.

Matthew 28:19-20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” The commandment is to make disciples, and we do that by going, baptizing, and teaching. The exciting part can be the going and baptizing. The harder part can be the teaching to observe all that Jesus commanded. I believe, in the church, we have traditionally done a good job of baptizing people but not helping them learn to be disciples of Jesus. I understand that there are souls out there that need to be saved, and we should be teaching the lost. But let’s not forget those that have become Christians. They still need our help to be transformed into Jesus. I think that is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 4:19.

This has been one of the talking points in the book some are studying in Bible class called Church Reset by Jack Wilkie (He will be our speaker Sunday Morning). Help someone know Jesus but also help them to become like Jesus that they might in turn help someone else.