Does it really matter?

Do I really need to go through all of this?  I’m going to heaven. Jesus has cleansed my sin.  The Holy Spirit dwells within me. My children are saved.  This stuff you’re talking about is uncomfortable.  I like being comfortable.

Don’t we all?

Two things to note here.  First, you say you are saved.  You say the Holy Spirit dwells within you.  Are you sure?  Are you absolutely, without a doubt, sure?  I challenge you to examine your heart.  Eternity is too long to risk this based on an assumption or a foggy experience.  If a person feels no conviction, if they are able to repeatedly, willfully sin without remorse, if living “in the world” is more comfortable than living for God, I would challenge this person to examine herself.

Once you have looked back on your conversion experience and are confident of your eternal security, let’s venture on to today’s message:  Being separate from the world.  It’s tough!  For instance, letting our friends know that we no longer watch that certain television series anymore because it doesn’t align with scripture…for many of us, this is terribly difficult!

I am so challenged here.  I have lived my Christian life for a long time on the fence.  I have.  I wish I could claim otherwise, but I cannot.  I have likely had acquaintances who hopped into my car and my life and my FaceBook feed who have left with no indication of the God that owns my heart, and friend, that should not be so.

You might wonder what I mean when I say “living on the fence”.  This simply means that one is sitting astraddle a non-literal fence refusing to commit completely to either side.  When I imagine myself all those years refusing to fully live the life God designed for me, I can envision that indecision of a life lived “on the fence”.  The green pastures of the life God wants me to live on one side and the dark tempting fields of the world on the other.

So, does it matter?  Do I seriously have to be a Jesus Freak?  God already loves me.  He loved me while I was yet a sinner; how much more He must love me now that I’m claimed by His Son (Romans 5:8).

But that fence, guys – living on that fence…keeping our children up there with us. Eventually one of us is going to fall off.  And we might land on the side of faith and security and the safety of God’s love.  But you know what?  There’s another side to that fence.  And it’s dark and troubled and filled with addictions and searching and all manner of evil.

You know that road; you may not have traveled it yourself, but I’m sure you know someone who has.  I know that road.  I have prayed countless prayers for loved ones traveling that dark, addiction-filled road.  I have cried bitter tears for them.  I have watched the slow descent from a life “sort of” lived for Got to a life lived for self.  And because we aren’t designed to live for self, this too often leads to a desperate searching and on toward a life filled with the numbing relief of alcohol and drugs or other desires of the flesh.

We’ve been given the peace of God.  We’ve been granted an everlasting covenant.  Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant (Hebrews 13:20).  But it doesn’t stop there!  This continues with God making us perfect in every good work to do His will.  Hebrews 13:21 demonstrates how He will equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 

We cannot stay on the fence, Friend.  We were created to run through that green, peaceful valley, to continue the course, to breathe every breath, to make every decision, and to live every day working to please Him.

Today’s Challenge:  As you finish today’s reading, we want you to imagine this fence as a literal object.  Envision the fence, the grassy meadows of God’s goodness on one side and the windy, worldly, unknown pastures of today’s culture on the other.  If you are the type who needs to see things on paper, we urge you to use a pen and paper to literally draw this scene.  Put a list of what you’ll find in a life lived on each side.  If you are a dreamer, spend some time envisioning the scene in your mind.  You might even think of examples who have come before you that lived their life on one side or the other.  What was the result?  Spend time on this throughout your day.  Make this scene come alive.  If you have children or other youth in your life, consider your role in their future.  How are the decisions you make today impacting their tomorrow?  Which direction is your example pushing/pulling their young hearts?