Feb 19 2009
The Box on the Shelf
Have you ever received a gift and not really understood the value of what you had been given? It may have been the most wonderful gift you could imagine, but without knowing how to use it properly, or being able to wade through pages of instructions to understand the item, it was simply put on the shelf and never taken down again. Some people, like me, might get a phone and never understand the multitude of capabilities that are contained within such a small device. If I have a phone that I can use to talk to someone, that’s all I need. I don’t care about voice-mail, photo specifications, internet connectivity, download memory space and all the other things that go into today’s phones, I only want to be able to call someone and hear them when they answer.
This shortsightedness may be alright for the kinds of gifts we give one another, but too often this is how we receive the gift of salvation from God. We say, “I have received salvation and that’s enough.” This is a very limited view and can even go so far as to present an obstacle which ends up blocking the blessings that God would like for us to enjoy. Sure, God could force the blessings on us but He doesn’t work that way. God will use His power through the Holy Spirit to lead us into the right knowledge of the gift of salvation and as we make ourselves available to grow in grace, He is willing and faithful to bless us more and more. Saving grace is not something to receive and then forget about until we find ourselves at the gates of Heaven, no; saving grace is intended to be displayed through us so that others may see the wonders of our God and perhaps find a reason to accept Christ in their own lives. We are called upon to be salt and light, remember?
Once you have had your life saved by the blood of Christ, will you then keep it to yourself? From the day we are born we are walking the road to Hell and to suddenly realize that you are saved from the fate of eternal torment in Hell, one would think that you would want everyone to know about it! Our salvation is not one of works, lest any man should boast, but there is a works component that is made manifest in the lives of the saved. We are not saved by works, but we are saved unto good works. We are told that we will recognize the followers of Jesus Christ by their fruit, this is what the world needs to see, our fruit. In fact, if the person claims salvation and yet shows no fruit, one has to wonder if they were ever really touched by the Spirit at all.
The first thing one usually hears in a discussion of this type is that we should, “…judge not lest we be judged…” The problem is that we are called to discern among those of us that claim to be children of God. How can Paul say that he judges no-one in one breath and then in the next say, “but when I do judge, my judgment is right…”? We, as Christians are not to judge the world, that is the divine providence of God Almighty. The world can not be held to a Christian standard and since they are of the world, who of us can fault them for doing the things that the world does. It is as ridiculous as faulting a skunk for spraying a noxious odor at it’s enemies; it’s what they do! The worldling does worldly things because they ARE worldly. It’s as simple as that. But to those who claim the banner of Christ, we are to judge their fruit with a Godly discernment.
The thing is, that too many professing Christians can not be identified by their behaviors. We are supposed to show good fruit, to be ambassadors of the gift of God’s grace in our lives. How can a true Christian claim salvation on the one hand, and then on the other hand, leave the gift box on the shelf while living in the world like all the rest? Doesn’t the life that Jesus Christ gave for us matter at all? How does the professing Christian believe in his salvation and at the same time laugh at the off color joke, indulge in the unethical business practices that his co-workers encourage, and lie, cheat and steal when among those he is used to associating with?
One of the most obvious displays of the problem is evidenced by the, “Sunday Christian.” You have surely seen them, the ones who are holy and pious on Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon are living lives that rival the most base worldling. Sometimes they don’t even make it home before they exhibit their true colors. I have seen couples fighting all the way to church and then they are at it again before they can get out of the parking lot after services. Assuming, for the sake of discussion, that these people have genuinely received their share in the saving grace of the Lord, they have taken the gift and put it up on the shelf thinking that it’s enough that it be there to usher them in to the celestial city when the time comes. But they ignore it the rest of the time. What a waste!
Jesus died a criminal’s death so that we might have the opportunity, through faith, to reconcile our sinful nature with the Holy nature of God, the Father. This can not be appreciated if our gift of salvation remains on the shelf! We must unpack the box and learn what the gift is all about. We should hunger to know how to please God more each day, to bend our stubborn wills to the prompting of God’s Holy Spirit. We need to feed on God’s Word so that we can learn to understand the blessings that he would want us to receive. John 15:8 says, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;…” When the world looks at us and sees nothing other than what we were before of professed justification, what good is our witness? When we do well, then our witness speaks to the world about the multitude of blessings bestowed by our Heavenly Father. When we do well, it glorifies God!
This can not happen if we never take the box down off of the shelf. If we do not take the time and put in the effort to understand the gift, if we neglect our duty to our Saviour, then God receives no glory from our actions. In fact, just the opposite is the case. When the professing Christian bears no fruit, then Satan is glorified! Satan gets to use us to say, “See, there is no point to this God thing, worship is useless and it isn’t even worth the bother.” The world looks at this person and sees that they are no different than they ever were and mistakenly concludes that there is nothing to be gained by accepting Christ as their Saviour. Unless the Christian allows God to work through him, how is the cause for the kingdom of Christ to be advanced? Satan sits in our churches week after week and demonstrates that holiness is an overstated ideal, the sincere convert looks at the emotionless, cold senior members and thinks that there is something wrong with being, “on fire,” for the Lord. They feel as though there is something wrong with seriously contending for the faith. The message from the congregation, the church boards and oftentimes the pastorate itself is that the Biblical principles that are supposed to guide the development and path of the church are outdated, out of touch, or simply wrong.
Why not put a known drug user in front of the youth as an example to aspire to, what’s so wrong about filling the pulpit with openly gay clergy who not only flaunt their depraved lifestyles in front of the church, but also cast disparagement upon any who would take an intolerant position against them? Who cares if the Wednesday night youth group uses the sanctuary for football practice? Open the gift people! Learn what the Spirit says about reverence in the house of God, the right way to select leaders in the church and the Godly characteristics that need to be displayed within the body of Christ. We are called to be a people apart from the world. The body of Christ is not a social club that exalts the biggest givers, or the ones who dress the best; it is about being holy as He is holy, about daily dying to ourselves so that He might live and be displayed through us.
If we are going to accept the gift in the first place, then OPEN THE BOX! One hundred million professing Christians who do nothing with the gift of God’s grace, salvation by faith in Christ Jesus, can do nothing to turn even one from a world of chaos and darkness. The very most they can hope to achieve is to make them another useless hypocrite like themselves, and turn them into one, to whom Christ will one day say, “Depart from Me for I never knew you.” But one repentant, faithful, caring soul being used of God can prove to the whole world that there is nothing to compare to the riches and the glory of the awesome God they serve. What one hundred million can not do, one can; when that one is living…
All for the Glory of Christ