My entire family went to a passion play on Good Friday evening that most of us have gone to for the last few years. It is always an amazing experience that is so well done that it gives you a glimpse into what Jesus must have gone through. They end it in an interesting way: they darken the stage and lower a curtain that is sheer. As the singers sing the Chris Tomlin song "I Will Rise", they flash onto the screen the name of each disciple and how and when they died. After the last disciple is put up, the curtain rises, the lights come on, and there are several of the cast on the stage in white robes.We tend to be pretty hard on the disciples. After being with Jesus for 3 years, hearing Him speak, seeing the miracles; they ran and abandoned Him in His worst hours. But none of us would want to be judged by our worst moment.
Just a few years earlier, these same cowardly men had done what few of us do today. Jesus asked them to follow Him, and they left behind their nets and followed Him. That doesn't seem very cowardly to me. I am including myself in this statement, but I fear Christians today, and especially we American Christians, are weak and shallow for the most part. When we follow Jesus, we tend to make it on our own terms. We don't want to give much of anything up to serve Him, and live as if we are trying to do the minimum to please God, and make the difference between us and the world so slight that it is barely discernible.....if it is at all. Our attitude tends to be "how much can I do and still be a Christian", and "how much like the world can I be and still be a Christian?"
I have heard people tell of what it was like years ago. Churches were packed, the altars would be lined when preachers preached the Gospel, and women would shout their hair down. God didn't change, so we had to have changed. Christians are more concerned with what kind of programs churches have, the style of worship, whether the church has a cafe or not, how hip the preacher is, ..... and other things that don't matter. God's presence has taken a back seat to comfort and entertainment. We are so shallow, even we who don't think we are. The majority of us would never stand up to what the disciples did after Pentecost, or even what many Christians stand up to and go through across the world today.
We are all disciples of Jesus who claim to serve Him, but which kind are we? Are we the kind who ran in fear and abandoned Him when things got tough, or are we the kind who boldly proclaimed the Gospel when it meant imprisonment, torture, and death? John is the only disciple of Jesus to live to a ripe old age and die of natural causes. The other ten were crucified, killed with a spear and battleaxe, clubbed to death, and more. After the Resurrection and Pentecost, they didn't run anymore. They didn't abandon Jesus, but died awful deaths for Him. Could we?
Being attracted to the same sex isn't an easy thing to deal with. It is more difficult than anyone can imagine who hasn't been there himself. I understand why gay men want a relationship with another guy.....but if one is to be a true follower of Jesus, they will obey God and live for Him. They won't try to ignore or reason around the verses in the Bible that clearly say it is a sin. Most evangelical Christians would agree and condemn the very idea of a man being a Christian and refusing to put God above those sexual desires, yet many gay men do that very thing.
But we all do it. Oh, not necessarily a sexual issue, but other things, We decide a verse doesn't really mean THAT, we decide a verse doesn't apply to us today, we reason around and twist verses that would make our life less convenient if we took it at face value. It is rare today for a Christian to NOT have something they put before above God.
If we lived like the disciples did in their last years, what would our lives look like? If we lined up our lives against theirs, would we come out pretty well, or would we look pathetic and shallow next to them? I would wager the most mature Christians among us would look awfully small next to them. They boldly preached the Gospel of a risen Christ and were constantly challenged for it, imprisoned, beaten..... and then finally put to death. And we have trouble going out of our way to do much for Jesus, or giving up much of anything for Him.
I was reading an article the other day that I can't remember much of except for one part. The writer said there are music artists who say they are not a Christian artist, but a music artist that is a Christian. This writer pointed out that this is backwards to how it should be. We all should be Christians first, and everything else after that. We are not mechanics, nurses, singers, etc that are Christian.....we are Christians who are mechanics, nurses, etc. Does it make a difference? I believe it does. It shows in a subtle way what our priorities are. Being a Christian should so be a part of our life that it affects everything we do. It shouldn't be something we put on and off like an article of clothing. We should be a Christian first, and then a singer, a voter, doctor, author, etc. The first part will affect the second.
We may face what the disciples faced here in America some day. If we keep electing the wrong politicians, Christianity may be outlawed here. There is already a strong hatred of Christianity and Christians, and it could happen even here. If it came down to denying Jesus or losing our life, could we do it? If we can't give up things in our life for Him now that He may want us to get rid of, how on earth do we think we could give up our life for Him? Using the gay issue again, if a gay man insists on living a gay lifestyle and reasoning around Scripture so he can call himself a Christian, how would he ever choose Jesus over death if he can't choose Jesus over his sexuality?
I don't want to face persecution. I hope I never have to face death because I am a Christian, but I want my faith to be such that I could stand up to that and die for Jesus if I had to. I want Jesus to be such a part of me and my life that I am not shallow and weak. I want Him to be so much a part of my life that He is what is most important; not my dreams, desires, comforts, needs, and wants. If we are to truly be disciples of Jesus, it will cost us something. It may not cost us what it did the 10 disciples of Jesus who were killed; but it will cost us.
If I am to be a disciple of Jesus, I want to be real and not shallow. I don't want to put anything before Him or excuse away inconvenient truths or verses.
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
I have heard how Christians long ago
Were brought before a tyrants throne
They were told that he would spare their lives
If they would renounce the name of Christ
But one by one, they chose to die
The Son of God, they would not deny
Like a great angelic choir sings
I can almost hear their voices ring
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
Now, the years have come and the years have gone
And the 'cause of Jesus still goes on
Now, our time has come to count the cost
To reject this world, to embrace the Cross
And one by one let us live our lives
For the One who died to give us life
Till the trumpet sounds on the final day
Let us gladly stand and boldly say
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
To the Lamb of God who bore my pain
Who took my place, who wore my shame
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
With all my strength, with all I am
I will seek to honor His commands
I pledge allegiance to the Lamb
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