Settled Christianity

I think sometimes as Christians, one of our biggest enemies is our own contentment.

It's easy to buy into the idea that once we find a place where we are comfortable and where we fit in, we put down roots and set up shop. We become so content to remain where we are that we forget that we are on a journey toward becoming more like Christ. We become "settled," when God calls us to be continually on the move. What invites us to be contentment home owners on Christianity street? Fear? Comfort? Ignorance? Indifference? Apathy? Maybe you can fill in your own blank...

The God story of Scripture calls Abraham to leave his home and all he's known...calls Noah to build an ark with no hint of water anywhere...calls Moses despite his "weaknesses" to help deliver God's people out of Egypt...calls the prophets to speak truth regardless of the consequences...calls Peter to drop his nets to become a rock of the church...calls Paul out of a life of "blindness" to proclaim the "light" he encountered on the road to Damascus...and calls us to seek, pursue, grow, and change. It is not a message of stagnation but a message of movement. Jesus invites us not to stay, to kick our feet up, and to get comfortable...BUT to love, to serve, to go, and to make disciples. It is not a call of arrival, but a call to travel...a call to be, and to keep on be-coming the hands and feet of Jesus in our communities.

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I've warned you of them many times; sadly, I'm having to do it again. All they want is easy street...
Philippians 3:12-19 (The Message)

--Mike