333 WORDS….
Why does the greatest Man ever, “the man Christ Jesus”, desire to bond with us little guys more, much more, than we want to bond with Him?
I mean, don’t you think it should be the reverse?
Doesn’t the sports fan want the company of the superstar much more than the star wants his company? Who would be more thrilled, the canadian who received an invitation to a royal wedding or the queen who received an invite to the canadian’s wedding?
But hey, we are talking about The Great Invitation by the “King of kings”, directed to all christians, to enter into permanent, rich companionship! Most christians are actually declining the One whose “name which is above every name”, He who is “sitting at the right hand of God”, the object of heaven’s worship. Why do we say, in effect, “Thanks Lord, but no thanks”?
Can we deny making such a refusal?
Lord Jesus assures His own, “He who abides in Me, and I in Him, bears much fruit.” “Much fruit” is evidence of abiding. So, within evangelicalism (etc.) where’s the “much fruit”? Yes, we see little fruit, indicating a degree of abiding. But doesn’t little fruit indicate lukewarmness?
So again, why?
The reason we are less than responsive to The Great Invitation is simply because there is something seriously wrong with us.
Perhaps we are like the abused child that finds difficulty responding to her adoptive parents’ affections. Or we instinctively know that abiding in Christ necessitates relinquishing self-rule. And cherished idols. And illegitimate lords. And tawdry television. And inferior friendships. Etcetera.
Christ does cost.
But to get from here to there, to become the person we now are not, to lay up an abundance of treasure in heaven, to please both the Master and our precious Father, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to positively affect the outcome of many, to have prayers readily answered, to walk in God-given authority…. we must (must!) abide in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen?