What if God was really like the way we treat Him?
What if all He wanted was a couple of hours of praise and adoration a week, and a few dollar bills in the offering plate?
What if God said, "Just give me ninety minutes, right in the middle of your weekend, where you tell me how wonderful I am, ask me to solve all of your health problems, and give me some of your money - even though I don't need money."
And, what if He continued, "The rest of the week, you can do whatever you want. After all, there's no such thing as hell. Eventually, you'll all get to heaven where there is only pleasure - no pain or suffering. Until then, you'll just have to suffer through this life until I decide it's time for you to 'come home.'"
That kind of God sounds shallow, self-centered, cold, and sadistic. Why would anyone worship, let alone serve, a God like that?
The question is, why do we act like that's all God expects of us? And if God expects more from us, why do we act like falling short of that expectation won't break His heart?
Jesus said, "Very truly (notice He didn't say truly, He said VERY truly), whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing."
That's hard to comprehend. Whoever ... anybody - not just "special somebodies." Will do ... not MIGHT do. Not just truly, VERY truly.
But he went on, "And they will do even greater things." Really? Greater? Even greater?
Jesus was telling His disciples that there was a spectrum of "Christ-like Behavior" and He was expecting them to surpass Him! Jesus wasn't going to set the standard, His disciples were!
I know it's hard to comprehend, so let's set aside the "greater than" expectation for a moment. Our minds don't know what to do with that information. Let's not wrestle with that mind-blowing idea right now.
What do we do with this - if Jesus expected us to do greater works, why is the typical Christian behavior closer to the low end of the spectrum than the middle, where Christ said He would be?
Some would say, "Today our 'works' aren't miracles - like Jesus did. Our 'works' are caring, and teaching, and preaching." But that doesn't fit the context of Jesus' comment.
Jesus was talking to Thomas. You know, the one we've nicknamed Doubting Thomas. It would only be a few days from that moment when Thomas wouldn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, even though he had witnessed Jesus do amazing things.
Perhaps with that future moment of doubt in mind, Jesus urges Thomas, "Believe me! If not because I'm saying it, believe because of the works that you've seen me do!"
It's not a very good argument to say, "Believe me! If not because I'm saying it, believe because you've seen me teach, and preach, and care for people." In other words, "If you can't believe what I'm saying, at least believe because I've preached it, and taught it before."
So, continuing that interpretation, Jesus says, "Very truly, whoever believes in me will teach, and preach, and care. And you will teach, and preach, and care even greater than me." That means that Jesus is expecting us to teach better and preach better than He did. Do you think anyone could teach or preach better than Jesus? Do you think we could care for people more than Jesus cares?
Even if that was what He was saying, most Christians aren't teaching, and preaching, and caring anywhere close to how Jesus did. So the question remains, why do we behave as if all God expects from us is a few songs and prayers before noon on Sunday and a monetary tip proportional to how we feel He's taken care of us in the previous week?
What if God's idea of church is greater? What if God's idea of being a disciple is more than we can imagine?
What if God's ways are higher than our ways? That almost sounds like scripture ...
What if all He wanted was a couple of hours of praise and adoration a week, and a few dollar bills in the offering plate?
What if God said, "Just give me ninety minutes, right in the middle of your weekend, where you tell me how wonderful I am, ask me to solve all of your health problems, and give me some of your money - even though I don't need money."
And, what if He continued, "The rest of the week, you can do whatever you want. After all, there's no such thing as hell. Eventually, you'll all get to heaven where there is only pleasure - no pain or suffering. Until then, you'll just have to suffer through this life until I decide it's time for you to 'come home.'"
That kind of God sounds shallow, self-centered, cold, and sadistic. Why would anyone worship, let alone serve, a God like that?
The question is, why do we act like that's all God expects of us? And if God expects more from us, why do we act like falling short of that expectation won't break His heart?
Jesus said, "Very truly (notice He didn't say truly, He said VERY truly), whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing."
That's hard to comprehend. Whoever ... anybody - not just "special somebodies." Will do ... not MIGHT do. Not just truly, VERY truly.
But he went on, "And they will do even greater things." Really? Greater? Even greater?
Jesus was telling His disciples that there was a spectrum of "Christ-like Behavior" and He was expecting them to surpass Him! Jesus wasn't going to set the standard, His disciples were!
I know it's hard to comprehend, so let's set aside the "greater than" expectation for a moment. Our minds don't know what to do with that information. Let's not wrestle with that mind-blowing idea right now.
What do we do with this - if Jesus expected us to do greater works, why is the typical Christian behavior closer to the low end of the spectrum than the middle, where Christ said He would be?
Some would say, "Today our 'works' aren't miracles - like Jesus did. Our 'works' are caring, and teaching, and preaching." But that doesn't fit the context of Jesus' comment.
Jesus was talking to Thomas. You know, the one we've nicknamed Doubting Thomas. It would only be a few days from that moment when Thomas wouldn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead, even though he had witnessed Jesus do amazing things.
Perhaps with that future moment of doubt in mind, Jesus urges Thomas, "Believe me! If not because I'm saying it, believe because of the works that you've seen me do!"
It's not a very good argument to say, "Believe me! If not because I'm saying it, believe because you've seen me teach, and preach, and care for people." In other words, "If you can't believe what I'm saying, at least believe because I've preached it, and taught it before."
So, continuing that interpretation, Jesus says, "Very truly, whoever believes in me will teach, and preach, and care. And you will teach, and preach, and care even greater than me." That means that Jesus is expecting us to teach better and preach better than He did. Do you think anyone could teach or preach better than Jesus? Do you think we could care for people more than Jesus cares?
Even if that was what He was saying, most Christians aren't teaching, and preaching, and caring anywhere close to how Jesus did. So the question remains, why do we behave as if all God expects from us is a few songs and prayers before noon on Sunday and a monetary tip proportional to how we feel He's taken care of us in the previous week?
What if God's idea of church is greater? What if God's idea of being a disciple is more than we can imagine?
What if God's ways are higher than our ways? That almost sounds like scripture ...
You can find me on FACEBOOK at my Facebook Page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=504321719). Here's a link to my Flickr.com Page (http://www.flickr.com/photos/curtisferrell/) Thanks for reading!
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