How would you explain to a non-Christian what God has done for you? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page 1019).
In
answering this question, the first thing to mention is that my
perspectives upon all things religious have been heavily influenced by
Jesus Christ. Jesus showed clearly the practical implications of
worshiping a loving God. Perhaps the first lesson to absorb is that
living for God means that one's life will be filled with opposition
and conflict since sin is fixed within the texture of life.
Anyone
who attempts to follow their best lights and live a righteous life
will unavoidably come to have a profoundly different perspective than
one based upon the prevalent passions of the world. When we pray
that God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, we thereby are
enlisting in warfare. And what are the enemies of God? They include
selfishness, self-righteousness, cruelty, falsehood, lust, idol
worship, greed, hypocrisy, callousness, hubris, and spiritual
blindness—all the things that Jesus railed against and eventually
got him crucified. To be a Christian is to find oneself upon the
firing line and to be deeply counter-cultural in decisive ways.
If
one were to find themselves comfortable and content and in large
agreement with the status quo, then they can be assured they
have been co-opted by a sinful world. If they find themselves
closely identifying with the powers that be on earth, then they are
not identifying with the heavenly powers. For life as we know it is
deeply different from the way God would have it. What Jesus taught
is that other-worldly values and concepts have their direct claim on
practical, everyday existence. Another way of putting it is that
Godly abstractions [the fruit of the Spirit] are to be
transformationally applied to the concrete factors of life here and
now. And this is not merely private and personal, but replete with
social implications. One of the key things that got Jesus crucified
was not a reclusive, private, ascetic bent; but his critique of the
powerful and influential and his overturning the tables that
represented business-as-usual.
So
worshiping God with a Christian spirit clearly has immediate,
practical implications. But it also endows us with a long-term
perspective giving life meaning and purpose. It gives us, within the
whirly burly of life, a compass yielding strength, endurance,
certitude, and peace that transcends understanding. It yields
spiritual harmony amidst incredible turmoil and strife. It yields,
in a phrase, an inner quietness, a “blessed assurance.” Our
touchstone is the Holy Spirit that guides us in disciplines of love.
All other laws—rules and regs—pale in comparison.
The
worship of God also gives us a servant's heart. We are to humbly
love and serve God and man. Confidence in God is markedly different
from “standing tall.” It is, rather, standing unflinchingly
humble and true. It is to be blessed by the grace of God.
Finally,
God's love gives us freedom. The security of God's love frees us—as
it freed Jesus—from the incessant search for human endorsement and
approval. Of course, Jesus had his disciples and one especially that
he loved. In this sense, I guess we can say that he needed and
enjoyed human friendship. But he was willing to face the fact that
even his closest friends would abandon him upon his arrest by
authorities. He understood well the frailties of the human frame,
but rested secure in the love of his Heavenly Father. Even death
could not separate him from the love of God.
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