There are verses in the bible that I don’t like.
Oh, I know they’re there, but I don’t like them.
The ones about
preaching to the lost,
giving of my self,
taking up my cross.The verses that imply I must do something.
Christianity isn’t a club where you
show up to meetings,
pay your dues,
stamp your card,
and stay on the roll to be a member.Church maybe.
But not Christianity.Being a Christian,
being a follower
of Christ,
requires one important thing:you must follow.
When we say that there is nothing we can do that will get us to heaven, I think we miss one point.
Christianity implies that we must do something.
“Follow me.”
this was written in tandem with the following one:
There are verses in the bible that I like.
I seem to return to them every chance I get.
The ones about
how I’m saved,
and loved,
and cared for.The ones that imply that I have a free ride.
Christianity isn’t a club where you
talk to the right people,
know the right verses,
do the right service work,
and give the right amount to be a member.Church maybe.
But not Christianity.Being a Christian,
being a follower
of Christ,
requires one important thing.you must realize that it’s not enough.
When we say that we need to do these things so we can get to heaven, I think we miss one point.
Christianity implies that we can do nothing.
“Follow me.”
i think the interesting thing about these two passages is that it marks one of the first times i can remember coming to a conlcusion that things might be a whole lot more complicated than i’d originally though. in “a new kind of Christian”, mclaren notes that a lot of times our theological positions are like some high school kid’s gym bag – stuff hanging out everywhere because it won’t quite fit together.
we use fancy words for it, of course – calvinism, armineanism… pre-destination, etc… but the reality is that there are theological issues that we will never grasp the complexity of. how can i be saved completely by the grace of God, but still at the same time have to do something about it? i’m not really sure. there are so many mysteries to Christ that we can argue about forever, but, as each one of these ends, the most important thing we can do is follow Him.