Nowadays, everyone is a spirit filled, tongues speaking, demon chasing, born-again Christian, ourselves inclusive. Gone are the days when Christians, even without the tag 'born-again' were easily picked out in a crowd. This was possible then because of their different life style, or their enthusiasm for the things of God. Other names had been attributed to these kind of people; 'different', 'S.U.', 'weird', 'fanatic' etc. In present day, this has been watered-down, as there is a fine blend between the Christian and unbeliever that masks a true identity. If there happened to be an argument as to who is a genuine Christian and who is not (not like the argument mattered), but it may be long, fierce and inconclusive.
The people who had the privilege of tasting Christianity in the purer years tend to have a benchmark to struggle towards. The ones who against all odds gave their lives to Christ in the new age, tend to have a lot to grapple with differentiating truth from 'truth'. New versions of doctrine are reeled out daily as though from an avid writer publishing newer editions.
In a time when the world is fast becoming like the church and the church is faster in becoming like the world, how can anyone as an individual stay in conviction that they are truly the sons of God.
Painful Obedience: I call it painful because it's never what we really want to do. It sacrifices our ideals, pleasures and comfort to please a God we do not physically see. We do it only by reason of faith. It is obedience to God that seeks neither approval nor applause from all that we hold dear. It's range varying from saying a simple prayer of love for our enemy to embarking on an uncertain missionary call. It is sacrificial obedience to the quiet voice within 'only for the sake of God!'.
Eat the Word: This is a huge challenge today because of numerous and diverse distractions. Why else would the phone ring with an important call coming through just when we take a seat to meditate on scriptures. How can we blame ourselves when our schedules are so tight and busy while we try to put food on our tables. How can we keep our attention span on the word when there are captivating and time consuming demands around us, with more obvious and immediate gratification, from TV to facebook to friends... and the list goes on. We do not hold ourselves to blame, the times are on us. However, when the going gets tough only the tough gets going. Drastic situations require drastic measures. Eat the word of God regularly with every initiative you can muster; bible recitation, memory verses, reading out loud, giving yourself a reward after every word milestone, anything that makes you eat the word of God, preferably by yourself. You may start off mechanically, until you imbibe the word in your spirit and daily life, like drops of rain that wear out marble out of sheer consistency. Reading several other christian literature does not alternate for reading the bible.
Grow: There's really no state of idleness in the life of a self professed christian. We are either growing, stagnant, dieing or dead. Oftentimes we recount the days of yore with delight and excitement on how we had done exploits, but in life we do not grow backwards like the curious case of Benjamin Burton. We grow forward, with the glory of the latter house being greater than the former. This is not easy but as sin abounds, grace abounds the more. If you have a friend, brother or sister who shares this passion with you, bless God and treasure that relationship. Harness it for maximum yield, it's easier when the effort is shared. If there's no such relationship, seek a person or two who would share this heaven bound desire with you, map out strategies to encourage one another. If you still find no one, and have children, make them your partners for growth. It will surprise you how much motivation you can get from children.
Whatever the case, whatever the time, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?
Stay prepared.
4 years ago