This is a lesson I have learned recently in how I am living substantially different than that which Jesus commanded me to live. It has served as a great convicted in my life, and I am so grateful for it:
If you have read Crazy Love by Francis Chan than you know the concept of the lukewarm Christian. A lukewarm Christian is someone who is not fully dedicated to God. I have been a lukewarm Christian. A lukewarm Christian is only as “godly” as they think they need to be to still be considered a Christian. They give halfheartedly, and with selfish intent. They quote scripture, not to share truth but to appear as a dedicated Christian. A lukewarm Christian is scared to raise their arms up in worship, is frightened by the opportunity to discuss God with people they do not know, and chooses what is popular over what is right. A lukewarm Christian is not ready to sell everything and give it to the poor to follow Jesus. They are bound by tradition, comfort, safety, and life expectations. Again I say it: I am a lukewarm Christian. But Jesus demands more than that. He requires more than that. In fact, according to Revelations 3, it’s said that a lukewarm Christian is no Christian at all: “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
Jesus is worth far more than anything but our complete dedication. He askes for all of our being. He wants us to live for Him to the point of death. He wants us to abandon our security, our comfort, and our safety, for His steadfastness. He will provide, comfort, and protect while we are living for Him as Christians who are fully devoted.
In preparation for this mission, I look forward to learning to live this way. I want to obey God’s commands as I live out the Great Commision. That starts now, in the U.S., not in Africa. It’s God’s desire for me to radically follow Him, in every moment of every situation. I pray for eyes that seek only to give, and not to take. God will teach me amazing things on this trip, but I don’t want to focus at all on receiving. Often, mission trips are viewed as platforms for lessons God teaches us. When we return from mission trips, we are asked what we learned. We know this, so we proceed in our mission work looking for ways that we might learn. I believe this is distracting from the mission. I seek to give wholeheartedly to those who do not know the name or love of Jesus Christ. I pray that I will decrease so that He might increase. I want to be the Christian Jesus intended for us to be. This is not a vacation or a canvas for social media posts. It’s a matter of the eternal lives of those who do not know Christ.
God’s heart is for the nations. In the love of Christ, I pray mine will be too.
