In many Central American countries, if you claim to be a Christian, you are expected to stay away from tobacco and alcohol. There were a lot of gangs around the areas we went to. We were told that if you want to get out of these gangs there are only two ways: die or give your life to Christ. And if you choose to give your life to Christ they let you go freely with no problems. However, if you choose that path and then a gang member sees you at bars, smoking or drinking, they will kill you. They assume you have lied to them. Because if you are a Christian, why would you dabble in that? They take faith very seriously.
In America, you can claim a relationship with Christ whether you are at a carnival or a strip club. And wherever you go, that is okay. It is okay to claim you know and have a personal relationship with Christ, drink until you cannot remember, and sleep with whoever is nearby. It is okay to claim you know Christ personally and then bully your peers, gossip about your friends, steal, lie, and cheat. It is okay to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, accept that He loved us enough to die for our sins, then turn around and continue to live in those sin patterns. Why fix it if He already died for it, right?
Wait…What?!
How low are our standards for what it looks like to have faith in America? If we claim to love Jesus, but we do not spend time with Him, honor what He has said is right and wrong, or even tell people about Him, what are we really doing? Yes, I am making a generalization and I know there are really strong, incredible people of faith in the States. I am not casting blame and I am not trying to say Central America is better than us.
Hear me out, what I am trying to say is Central America takes the fear of God so seriously that when they give their lives to Christ they abandon the sin pattern that has them enslaved and has created separation between them and Christ. Yes, North America views alcohol differently. Alcohol is not exactly the point of this, so please please do not perceive it as that. What I am asking is, how seriously do we take the fear of God? How serious are we about our faith? Is God important enough to us that we would rather change our lifestyles than face any further separation from Him? No He does not ask for anything in return for His sacrifice except to accept and love Him. Lets say your husband or wife continued seeing other people after you are married and cannot love you enough to stop, wouldn’t that sting a bit (lot) and perhaps even end the relationship? What is taking your attention and devotion from God?
Whatever has had you enslaved- alcohol (that was mine for 5 years), sex, gossip, gambling, drugs, self harm- are you willing to leave it behind in order to pursue Christ?
He made the ultimate sacrifice when He gave His life for ours on the cross. It was not quick. It was not painless. It was not noble or honorable. It was not respectable. But our freedom was worth it to Him.
What sacrifices is He worth making in our lives? That is the question I want to ask. Are you willing to make changes in your life so He fits in better? Are you willing to humble yourself to your peers, coworkers, employees, spouse, children, so that they can get a better view of Christ through you?
Is Christ a societal expectation or your Lord and Savior? And if the latter, what does “Lord” and “Savior” mean to you?
There is a worship song by Bethel I love that goes like this, “You can have it all, Lord. Every part of my world. Take this life and breathe on this heart that is now Yours.” When I hear it and sing it I wonder how much do I stand behind what I am saying. Can He have it ALL? Am I willing to give Him my WHOLE heart? Some days, honestly, no. I hold on to pride, confidence in myself, doubt, wanting affirmation from others.. I am not writing this out of a place of perfection. I stand with you wrestling with my flesh as much as the next person.
These are rhetorical questions for you to take to the Lord. These are questions I ask myself all the time. This is a conversation I have been having with myself for months, “how much of my life am I willing to give Him?” And I wanted to bring you into it.
If you do not know Him yet, but would like to, I would be more than willing to introduce you.
