Saturday, July 12, 2008

Clouds and Rejection of Christ

It has been over six months since clouds covered most of the sky over Las Vegas. It is a nice change. Don't get me wrong. I love the clear skies here. I enjoy not ever thinking about alternatives when planning an event in case of rain. Golf never gets rained out.

We are supposed to get some showers later today and tomorrow. I would love to see the dust cleaned off of our street in front of the house.

Today I'm preparing to preach on Luke's account of a "sinful woman" who came to anoint Jesus' feet when he was a guest at Simon the Pharisee's house. What an incredible Savior we have!

I've been thinking this week about what people hear when we invite them into contexts of worship or discussion about God's Word. Last week I heard someone from City-Wide Redeemer asking a friend if she would like to join them for the women's study on Tuesday mornings. The answer was quick: "No. I'm not religious."

Well neither are we--at least in the sense that she means.

We are a people who are being transformed into new creatures, true image bearers of the living God. We are a people who have come to a profound sense of being spiritually dead and separated from our Creator. We have met Jesus. We have found forgiveness and adoption because this Jesus took the penalty/punishment for our sins and gave us his record of perfection in exchange so that we can stand blameless and totally accepted before our Holy God. This is the history that has captured and changed us. We want to introduce people to Jesus.

When engaging others with our faith it is critical that we don't simply offer them access into our "religious program." We must ensure that they are not rejecting our schedule of fellowship, but rather that they know they are rejecting Jesus Christ, God's Anointed Savior of the world. This will look differently in almost every conversation and relationship with non-Christians. Hopefully we can begin to help people feel the weight of saying, "No."

I think that this helps us as Christians who are trying to live out the message of God's gospel. This releases us from taking any rejection personally. We had nothing to offer them in the first place. It is only Christ who has salvation and new life to offer. It is only Christ that they reject. I'm not finished thinking about the matter. These are just my rambling thoughts today. Leave a comment if you have another take.

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Me and Angie

Me and Angie
December 2010