Good morning. I was reading recently about a missionary who had been serving the Lord in China for over a decade. With COVID being the given reason, (but communist government concern over many Chinese people turning to the Lord being the truth), he has been forced from his mission in China and has not been allowed to return. While he is not able to return to the people he has been ministering to in China, he has not been idle while waiting and working for the opportunity to return. He has spent his time in the U.S. visiting churches with words of hope and inspiration as well as words of serious criticism.
Given the opportunity to speak at a large community church in the Kansas City area, he was able share news of the wonderful work the Lord has been doing in China. He was able to tell them of the good news that Chinese people have been coming to Christ by the hundreds in the region he has been serving. In fact, in his region of southern China evangelical Christianity has become the predominant faith system. New Christians and new Christian churches have become a powerful force in the area.
When he finished his message in the church in suburban Kansas City he asked for questions. One of the church’s elders raised his hand and asked, “What would it take for such a faith revival to take over in our region, right here in the American heartland?”
The missionary didn’t hesitate at all. His answer was, “It will happen immediately when you begin to take Christ seriously.”
That answer, I think, is a rather scathing criticism of Christianity in our country. We feel that we have so much, and feel that we truly need so little, that it can be a problem for us to take our Father God and our Savior Jesus Christ seriously. Many Christian people find themselves at a place of loss and destruction because they have never invested in fully knowing their Lord.
This problem isn’t new. The prophecy of Isaiah begins with a description of God’s people that sounds a bit too familiar: Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
The ox knows its master,
the donkey its owner’s manger,
but Israel does not know,
my people do not understand.” Isaiah 1:2-3
Clearly, the prophet is speaking for God. God’s concern is that He has raised up His people as His dear children, and they are the love of His heart, the passion of His Spirit, and yet they refuse to fully know Him.
The ox and the donkey know where their food comes from and which voice belongs to their master. God’s people, however, seem to refuse to accept those truths. It is all too easy to congratulate ourselves when all is well, and to condemn those around us when things are not as we want them to be. But what is the heart of God? Is He using difficult circumstances to discipline or to shepherd us? Is He providing blessing after blessing because of His great love for us and His promise to provide what is right for His own, only to have His children rebel against Him and refuse to give Him glory, praise, or even thanks?
To take Christ seriously is to be aware of our needs and our limitations, and it is a matter of knowing Him in such a tender and personal way that we will not hesitate to turn to Him when we feel ourselves in need. Neither will we hesitate to bring Him thanksgiving and praise at all times.
God’s Word to His people as spoken through His prophet Isaiah made it clear that He would not accept willful ignorance, arrogance, or independence. I do not believe that the heart of God has changed at all.
To take Christ seriously is to make Him our Lord. Not by what we say of Him, but by what we truly feel about Him, and therefore how we live with Him within us. That means that within the atmosphere of His absolute and unbridled love we trust our Lord enough to give Him every part of our lives.
As the new year approaches, perhaps we should consider how serious is our faith and therefore our relationship with our Lord. Perhaps the best New Year’s resolution will not be regarding what we can do better, but instead how we can trust, and love, and rely upon Him more.
May our patient and loving Lord guide you and bless you throughout your day!
Vern