They probably pray with their family at meal times (if they eat together) and even give something financially or of their time to God's work.
But even so, their faith, religion of sorts, and relationship with God may still be tucked away somewhere rather than the central, motivating influence for most all they do or think. It's like a pie.
In many cases, people make their relationship with God just one of many pieces of a pie. There's the work piece, activities piece, child piece, vacation piece, leisure piece, hobby piece, etc. and then there's also the God/Jesus piece. Faith gets one sixth, eighth or tenth but their faith rarely strays into the other areas of life. It's as though church on the weekend or time with God is just another thing to get done in a busy week.
They don't live a life for or with Christ. They just live one that includes Him when there is time. Their faith doesn't really impact those other pieces most of the time.
I'd like to suggest that if we're going to follow Jesus and live for God that the pie has to look differently. Instead of our faith being one piece it needs to be the CENTER of the pie. When God is in the middle then He impacts everything. We take him to work, to our parenting, to our goalsetting, to our bedroom, to our giving and to all of life.
And our kids begin to see in us someone living a life that is truly Christ-centered, focused on things that matter.
You see, let me be brutally honest here. Many Christian homes are no different than their secular counterparts except for the fact that they go to church now and then. The moms and dads and the kids are for the most part doing and experiencing the same things their friends are who don't know Christ. Something is wrong. And it may be due to the fact that Jesus is just a piece of the pie not the center of it.
Will you and your family be different? It may be hard but it will be for the best for you and the people who are impacted by you. Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow. And I think that means he needs to be in the center.
I saw the pie picture, I read the first paragraph, and I commented to my son (who is just short of 2 years...) our faith is not a piece of the pie, it is the crust. Its what holds everything together, is the foundation of every activity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting out a good thought and idea that gets me thinking!
"Many Christian homes are no different than their secular counterparts except for the fact that they go to church now and then."
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be amazing if Christians in US began to suffer such persecution that owning Jesus' name could mean tremendous rejection, loss of possessions, and even bodily injury? Like Paul, we might to say things like "to live is Christ and to die is gain" and "For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as garbage". Wouldn't be excited if our norm was like those in Peter's first letter who "had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials" but who "believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy"? What if the realities of Heaven become more real than the distractions of Earth? What if the joys to come became real than the current moments of suffering? What if the Church became the mature sons and daughters of God? What if we actually resembled Jesus and actually did the things that He did and is still doing? What if those who lived this type of life were rejected by those who run the "synagogues" of our day. What if we were publicly punished and instructed not to talk about the living Christ? It is acceptable to talk about the saints of old who are dead and about good moral teachers, but what about the living Christ who is the only way to God? Oh, it gets me excited to think about these things.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteWell said. Thanks!