I’ve gone to so many church services where the main message could be summed up as “Follow Jesus and do what he says so that you can have a good life.” I agree that following Jesus results in a better life. I’ve experienced it personally. But, shouldn’t it concern us when the end goal is some form of self-betterment?
Christianity is not a Self-Help faith
Self-help books are great. I’ve read a lot of them. But, the end purpose is to help you so you can have a better life.
Here’s the difference.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 it says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Yes, this is talking about you receiving a better life, and that’s great. God wants us to live good and free lives because he cares about us, but this isn’t the only reason.
Verse 10 explains it for us: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Jesus frees us so we can bless others
This is critical. So many Christians read the Bible to find peace, which is good. So many go to church to have an emotional experience, to learn something new about the Bible, or to learn how to fix a problem. None of these are bad in moderation, but did you notice the end goal for all of these? Ourselves.
How did we even come to this?
Jesus spent his whole life giving himself up for others, to the point of death. He didn’t use his divine power to better himself, he used it to bless himself. In fact, whenever he could’ve personally benefitted from his own power, he intentionally held back. How did we twist this into the idea we receive Jesus’ work and love and then keep all the blessings to ourselves?
Why do we use Jesus like a vending machine rather than follow his example?
1 John 4:19 doesn’t say “We have peace and a good life because God first loved us.” It says “We love because he [God] first loved us.”
There should be a natural overflow. Just as Jesus loved and sacrificed for us, we should love and sacrifice for others. It’s only natural. A healthy lake has an inlet and an outlet. Love pours in, love pours out. Unless you are the Dead Sea. Dead Sea Christians, take Christ’s love and sacrifice and use it for personal gain, they never give out, or at least never sacrificially give.
How many verses do we hear in church about Jesus saying “peace I give you” or “my burden is light”? All this is true of course, but we can’t divorce these verses from other verses where Jesus says “Go throughout all the world and preach the gospel” or “take up your cross daily.”
There’s an important balance between love-gluttony and sacrifice
By all means Jesus wants us to come to him and be filled with his love. Take the story of Mary and Martha for example. Martha ran around trying to get everything done and then gets mad at Mary who is sitting in Jesus’ presence soaking it all in. Jesus defends Mary’s actions. Adore Jesus, love him, get as much of him as possible, because that will cause you to want to love others. You can’t pour out love to others unless you find time to allow Jesus to pour into you. But, you can’t claim to love Jesus if your love for him isn’t driving you to action.
If you love Jesus, you will love what he loves. Jesus loves people, and he wants all people to find peace, rest and security in his name. Just as Jesus himself says in John 14:15 “if you love me, you will obey what I command.”
This all brings us down to one important distinction:
Do you love Jesus or do you love what Jesus does for you?
I love microwaves. They save me so much time. But, once my microwave breaks, I buy a new one. Though I may hate that I have to spend the money, you won’t catch me walking around showing people pictures of my old microwave and mourning it’s death.
However, true love for someone is focused on who they are. You love being around them, regardless of whether or not you get anything out of it. When they die, you know no one can replace them.
Thousands of people followed Jesus in John chapter 6 after he fed the five thousand, but they followed Jesus to get more food and see more miracles. They didn’t love Jesus, and I don’t think many of them were saved from their sins. You may love the peace and rest following a Christian life-style brings, but that doesn’t mean you are saved from your sins and given the gift of eternal life.
Only by truly loving Jesus, believing he was God and that he died and rose again, and by asking him to save you from your sins, can you be forgiven and granted eternal life.
It’s critical we ask ourselves this question: Do you love Jesus or do you love what Jesus does for you? Your answer could change your life.
