Religious influence has spawned the accusation (and rightly so) that
believers are so heavenly focused they are no earthly good.
The focus on Sunday-go-programmed-event-driven meetings, adherence to
religious rules and regulations, the pew-warming exercise of assembling in
segregated denominated buildings, the one-man showmanship, and the endless other
denominated traditional activities, while ignoring the purpose and plan of God
for the Community of the Redeemed in the Community of Humanity, ignoring hurting
people and being delinquent in establishing relationships with them while
ignoring their need give credence to such an accusation is indicative of a
self-righteous attitude. Their consuming preoccupation with preparing for, and
going to heaven renders them ineffective in the Community of the Redeemed
When the plight of people are brought to our attention, we content
ourselves with feeling sorry about them, telling them they are being judged by
God for their sin and if they do not repent Hell awaits them, while doing
nothing substantial to help them. Sympathetic thoughts or kind musings is not
demonstrating the compassion of our loving God.
Jesus could have met the multitude's needs merely by forming a thought or
speaking a command. He could even have done it from heaven without coming to
earth. But His compassion (Mark 6:34) caused Him not only to come and live and
die among us earth ones, but also to touch lepers, the lame and the blind, sup
with sinners, and to take little children in His arms and bless them. True
compassion is personal, active involvement that expresses God's merciful,
compassionate, kind and loving heart in words and deeds.
God's chosen people (the Community of the Redeemed) are to "clothe"
themselves with compassion [Colossians 3:12]. We are to be the salt of the
earth, we are not to use the gospel to satisfy our selfish desires or incorrect
interpretations to appease faulty religious beliefs. God showers us with comfort
through His Word and through other believers, we in turn are to redirect the
stream of His compassion, love and mercy to the hurting in the Community of
Humanity. We are not to hoard God's love for ourselves and lie to the sinner by
telling them God hates them. No, the love of God is to outflow from us as the
good news of His compassion and love to all.
The dualism theology of the religionist's theology...the separation between
what is spiritual and what is natural is faulty and not scriptural. Furthermore,
it indicates that God is concerned only about the spiritual world and is not
concerned about the natural world. In believing this line of faulty reasoning,
it is accepted that believers should therefore focus their lives on the heavenly
spiritual realm and repudiate the earthly realm. This kind of thinking is not
conducive to affecting the kingdom of God in the earthly realm with the good
news gospel of Christ. God desires the atmosphere of heaven fill the earth...not
the atmosphere of earth brought to heaven...heaven would be as messed up as
earth if that happened.
I am convinced that in the mind of God, there is no separation of reality
between the "spiritual" and "natural" realms. Through Jesus God has permanently
united Himself to the "natural." In the person of Jesus, God took on flesh, thus
uniting Himself with the people He created. We see the result of this union in
the earthly life of Jesus. Jesus was concerned about and compassionate toward
all people....the sinner as well as the saint. In His eyes, all people, whether
they be "spiritually minded" or earthly minded, are recipients of His love. He
loves and cares for all. Jesus was (and still is) the "friend of sinners"
(Matthew 11:19). And that's good for us all because "sinning" is a human
condition that we are all guilty of.
It's sad but true, many believers tend to think their calling is to isolate
themselves from the "natural" world in order to focus on "spiritual" matters by
going to their Sunday-go-meetings in segregated denominated buildings to isolate
themselves, not only from the world bur from fellow believers that believe
different beliefs. The result, is that people become so "heavenly focused" and
self oriented that they are "no earthly good."
Now, the Bible does tell Christians to “set your mind on things above, not
on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). But that exhortation from
Paul has to do with being Christ-centered in our thinking while daily
interacting with people in the community, not about withdrawing from the worldly
people by living in the ethereal realm. In fact, when we see Jesus more clearly,
we see Him who, through the Spirit, is actively involved in the lives of all
people...sharing with them His love and life in order to draw them into
communion with Himself where they will experience their true identity...an
identity now "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).
Jesus gives all of life meaning and value. With Him and in Him, there is no
spiritual/natural divide; no sacred/secular seperation. There is one Christ, who
is Creator and Redeemer, and thus Lord of all. All of His creation has been
raised from death and destruction in Him. As so as we walk with Him....our
calling as Christ-followers...all aspects of life has potentially, deep eternal
meaning and value. That includes seemingly "un-spiritual" (natural) things like
hiking in the woods, drinking in a sunset, spending time boating, drawing a
picture, singing a song, working at one's vocation, driving a country road etc.
In reality I see God more active in this events then I do in Sunday-event-driven
meetings.These things are the handiwork of God not the handiwork of man that so
dominates the event-driven Sunday meeting.
We are to live life as one "sent" on mission with Jesus. The Community of
the Redeemed exists not to stand apart from sinners but to stand, with Jesus,
for the sake of sinners, sharing the "Good News of the Gospel" that Christ has
the sin problem taken care of.
If you are one of the people who thinks that Jesus failed to take care of
sin problem through His death and resurrection...rest assured...all of humanity
is still in sin!
- Glenn Regular
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