Against the Tide

Moving against the tide is a difficult process whether you are in the sea, in Alabama, or in that wing of the church (Church?)* that is focused on Earthly things.

Matthew 16:24ff is quite clear that the focus of the Church is not on Earthly things (see Jesus’ comment to Peter in the preceding verse), but on Heavenly things. Wasting time and energy  focusing on health, wealth, and happiness – and all the accouterments – is 180 degrees off.

We are called (designed, created, empowered) to submit in humility to the Lordship of Christ with a focus on the obedience that allows Him to make us holy people. One can’t help but wonder if the huge crowds that fill some buildings, ostensibly called Churches, heard the Truth, would return the following Sunday. There is something unattractive for most people in the words of Jesus – “deny yourself, take up your cross, follow me” – if their focus is not on Heavenly things. It is a difficult thing for “earthy” folks to say, “I want to be only what Christ wants me to be, to have only what He wants me to have.”

Listen closely to the words you hear in the “building” where you spend your Sunday. Are they the words of the Lord Christ? Or, are they the words of men who are yet to lose “their” life in Christ’s?

*FYI: church – the pretenders/Church – the blood bought redeemed