John 6:25-26 says, “When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”
We often do things for the wrong reasons. As a young man I went to Junior College in Brevard, N.C. and I started attending a small Methodist church across the street from the school. I went every Sunday, dressed to kill, but I wasn’t doing so to be noticed by God, not even the preacher…but rather a nice young lady who was in school with me. I was hoping that she would notice me in church and not believe what she heard about my Friday and Saturday night antics. It didn’t work, but I went to church. We all have different reasons for attending church, don’t we? Some are here so that they could see other people. Perhaps for the fellowship or to catch up on the latest gossip.
Now, just as that crowd in this text followed Jesus primarily for a selfish reason; often people today follow Jesus for selfish reasons. There is a brand of theology out there called “prosperity theology” and if you’ve ever watched the religious channel you’ve seen it. It’s a theology that says if you come to Christ, He will take away all of your troubles. If you want to be healed, follow Jesus. If you want to take care of your financial difficulties, follow Jesus. If you want to meet the love of your life, follow Jesus.” Now all these are true in a sense. Jesus does heal, but not all the time. Jesus often does help you in your finances, but not always. The whole spouse thing I don’t know. Although I do believe that God had a hand in finding me a mate.
But if this is why you want to be a Christian, then you are being a Christian for the wrong reason. The focus of Christianity quickly becomes not how can I love and serve Christ, but what can I get from Him, and the focus of Christianity is not Christ, but rather the by-products of Christ.
Could you imagine if you built a marriage on the same principle? I love to eat my wife’s spaghetti sauce. In my opinion, there is none better. But you would say I was crazy if I told you that I married her for her spaghetti sauce, (unless of course you have tasted it). But how long do you think my marriage to Laurie would last if I was married to her not because I love who she is, but rather I love the way she cooks her spaghetti sauce? It wouldn’t last a year. The same thing happens when we follow Christ not because of who He is, but rather because of what He can give us.
You see we need to ask the question, “What happens when we follow Christ for the wrong reasons?” Often the response to that question is, we become disappointed and leave. A woman falls in love with a man because he has stomach you could iron a shirt on, but 5 years down the road when that six pack starts to look more like a barrel, she is disappointed and the marriage quickly falls apart. When I follow Christ because He will heal my cancer, or fix my marriage, or balance my check book, and when that doesn’t happen, I quickly fall away.”
And when you follow Christ for any reason other than who He is, you will be disappointed and you will say, “It didn’t work. Let me try something else.” Now, don’t get me wrong. God does heal, He does perform miracles, He does do all these things, but these are not why you become a Christian. You became a Christian because you were convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. You follow because of who He is.
True faith is when you follow God not for the blessings that come with it, but from the blessing of who He is. Let me ask you a harsh question. If you were to lose your job, your family, and your health; would that change your relationship with God? Job is a good example of faith. Job was a wealthy man who had it all, but in one day he lost his children, his wealth, and what was his response. Did he curse God, “God, if this is how you treat your friends, I don’t want to be one!” No, listen to what Job said. In Job 1:20 when he hears this awful news, vs. 20 says, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
You see, Job’s possessions, his family, even his health did not affect who God is. And here is another amazing thing to hear, even if God chose not to bless you in any way, He’d still be God and worthy of your worship. You see, we need to follow Christ today not because of what He can give us, but rather because of who He is. He is the Christ the Son of the living God. That would be enough, but instead He has done so much more. He has given us blessings upon blessings, He has met all of our needs, but most importantly, He has taken care of our greatest need. The bible says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When we were dead in our sins, Christ died for us. And when He rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven, He left the door open for us to come in.
We often do things for the wrong reasons. As a young man I went to Junior College in Brevard, N.C. and I started attending a small Methodist church across the street from the school. I went every Sunday, dressed to kill, but I wasn’t doing so to be noticed by God, not even the preacher…but rather a nice young lady who was in school with me. I was hoping that she would notice me in church and not believe what she heard about my Friday and Saturday night antics. It didn’t work, but I went to church. We all have different reasons for attending church, don’t we? Some are here so that they could see other people. Perhaps for the fellowship or to catch up on the latest gossip.
Now, just as that crowd in this text followed Jesus primarily for a selfish reason; often people today follow Jesus for selfish reasons. There is a brand of theology out there called “prosperity theology” and if you’ve ever watched the religious channel you’ve seen it. It’s a theology that says if you come to Christ, He will take away all of your troubles. If you want to be healed, follow Jesus. If you want to take care of your financial difficulties, follow Jesus. If you want to meet the love of your life, follow Jesus.” Now all these are true in a sense. Jesus does heal, but not all the time. Jesus often does help you in your finances, but not always. The whole spouse thing I don’t know. Although I do believe that God had a hand in finding me a mate.
But if this is why you want to be a Christian, then you are being a Christian for the wrong reason. The focus of Christianity quickly becomes not how can I love and serve Christ, but what can I get from Him, and the focus of Christianity is not Christ, but rather the by-products of Christ.
Could you imagine if you built a marriage on the same principle? I love to eat my wife’s spaghetti sauce. In my opinion, there is none better. But you would say I was crazy if I told you that I married her for her spaghetti sauce, (unless of course you have tasted it). But how long do you think my marriage to Laurie would last if I was married to her not because I love who she is, but rather I love the way she cooks her spaghetti sauce? It wouldn’t last a year. The same thing happens when we follow Christ not because of who He is, but rather because of what He can give us.
You see we need to ask the question, “What happens when we follow Christ for the wrong reasons?” Often the response to that question is, we become disappointed and leave. A woman falls in love with a man because he has stomach you could iron a shirt on, but 5 years down the road when that six pack starts to look more like a barrel, she is disappointed and the marriage quickly falls apart. When I follow Christ because He will heal my cancer, or fix my marriage, or balance my check book, and when that doesn’t happen, I quickly fall away.”
And when you follow Christ for any reason other than who He is, you will be disappointed and you will say, “It didn’t work. Let me try something else.” Now, don’t get me wrong. God does heal, He does perform miracles, He does do all these things, but these are not why you become a Christian. You became a Christian because you were convinced that Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah. You follow because of who He is.
True faith is when you follow God not for the blessings that come with it, but from the blessing of who He is. Let me ask you a harsh question. If you were to lose your job, your family, and your health; would that change your relationship with God? Job is a good example of faith. Job was a wealthy man who had it all, but in one day he lost his children, his wealth, and what was his response. Did he curse God, “God, if this is how you treat your friends, I don’t want to be one!” No, listen to what Job said. In Job 1:20 when he hears this awful news, vs. 20 says, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."
You see, Job’s possessions, his family, even his health did not affect who God is. And here is another amazing thing to hear, even if God chose not to bless you in any way, He’d still be God and worthy of your worship. You see, we need to follow Christ today not because of what He can give us, but rather because of who He is. He is the Christ the Son of the living God. That would be enough, but instead He has done so much more. He has given us blessings upon blessings, He has met all of our needs, but most importantly, He has taken care of our greatest need. The bible says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. When we were dead in our sins, Christ died for us. And when He rose from the grave and ascended into Heaven, He left the door open for us to come in.
No comments:
Post a Comment