I'm pretty sure that a significant majority of my posts start off with excuses explaining why I haven't posted anything new lately. So, I'll leave this one in the minority and state that finals and the end of the semester are just around the corner!
I've been doing a lot of thinking lately on what Christ calls us to do as his followers:
Jesus calls us away from wealth. That's certainly clear. When the 'Rich Young Ruler' comes to Jesus and asks him what he must do in order to enjoy eternal life, Jesus tells him that he must keep the commandments. The rich young man responds by saying that he has kept them since his youth. Jesus in turn looks him hard in the eye and says, "There's one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor."
I wonder why there aren't more of us doing this? In today's church and its focus on, and way of languaging salvation as 'giving our lives to Jesus', why is there a disconnect between 'our lives' and the life which we live? Why is it common in churches (particularly in the USA) for people to recognize and act on our need for a Savior, when at the same time it is not common at all for people to sell all they have -- or even half of what they have, or a quarter of what they have -- and give it to the poor?
Are our actions not even to the slightest extent to be included in our submission?
I had a brief conversation the other day with some one about this, and he said to me "Well, we aren't all called to be Mother Teresas." When he first said that, I sort of breathed a sigh of relief and mumbled to myself, "Thank God!" . But then, I wonder what would the world look like if all Christians sold a quarter of what they had and gave it to the poor? We'd be living in a vastly different world.
I remind myself that the saints are witnesses to what a life can look like when lived to the glory of God. And I know that I too am called to be a saint, just as we are all called to be saints. Why are we not trying even just a little harder?
As I type this I have to acknowledge the fact that I'm sitting in a room in a warm house in a nice subdivision, in a nice town in a nice suburb outside of a stereotypically hospitable city, in the United States of America. My closet is full of clothes. I have rings on my fingers. And a television going in the background. There is more than enough food in the pantry and the refridgerator.
I know that asking questions is not enough; actions -- of which I have few of this sort -- lend credibility. Once again I'm reaching for the speck of dust in our eye while I ignore the shard of glass in my own.
However, I take comfort in the fact that words and questions can spur action.
I take comfort in that while the rich young man in the gospel walked away with his head hung low because he just couldn't give away all his wealth, Jesus looked at him and loved him.
I am not saved by works alone.
Yet, where among us are the works to the extent that Jesus calls us to? Why do we give Jesus our lives, and yet not our wealth -- as the fishermen did -- at the same time? And why does the church not care?
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