Salvation.
Think upon that word- it's a pretty common one in Christian talk. The journey of the Christian life is the journey of salvation. What does salvation mean to you? If you're like me, you've been accustomed to asking "what are we saved from?" The psalmist can concur, to a point, as he/she seeks to be purchased (redeemed) from the evildoers around him/her. So what are you saved from? We are not promised relief from the temporary or even permanent sufferings of this life; in fact, Jesus offers us more in some cases. And so we look forward to the resurrection, salvation from death and ultimately all suffering. And so the Christian faith gets boiled down to "getting into heaven" and the rest of the story is good advice in the meantime. Obedience to the rest of the story is... well... optional.
This anemic view of God's story and salvation is wrecking Christian witness across the world. Hypocrisy is the sin of the day - getting angry at the lifestyles of our neighbors while leaving our own lives unexamined. Perhaps it is because we were not created just for heaven. We were created for here- this world, too. And perhaps we ought not only to think what we were saved "from" and expand our thinking to what we were saved "for." In other words, we are considering the purpose of our redeemed lives.
To the psalmist, a life of obedience is what you are saved "for." Now I want to take the word obedience and expand it a little. Obedience, in modern usage, often turns into "pray and read your Bible" or "be nice to people." And that will get you respect and even make changes toward a satisfied life. However, obedience to God's Law ends in a life transformed for God's purposes- the Church's role in God's story and plan. What would your life look like if you were re-purposed to God's mission?
Your ears and your eyes would be open! Your heart would be responsive to His plan for the day! You would make yourself available for His purposes!
ReplyDeleteThanks Andy and Joan.... The term "radical obedience" is how God is speaking to me lately. We typically think of ourselves as pretty good people, but being totally obedient in every area of our lives, well... that's for those super-christians that have a lot more "will-power" than I do.(by the way, several people recently have pointed out to me, that they don't see this anywhere in scripture)
ReplyDeleteFrancis Chan says in his book, "Crazy Love"...'That is why I cannot say in this book, "Everyone is supposed to be a missionary' or 'You need to sell your car and start taking public transportation.' What I can say is that you must learn to listen to and obey God, especially in a society where it's easy and expected to do what is most comfortable."
Father in Heaven, Help me to see you more clearly and to follow you wherever you want me to go. Risky and radical, for sure. But worth it? If I believe You, without a doubt, YES, YES and YES over and over again. Amen!!!