Last time I wrote, I suggested that one implication of belonging to God’s family was that we needed to just relax as full family members. We have nothing to prove.
A second implication, which may seem somewhat contradictory, is that we need to work hard to ‘remain in God’. Let me explain.

The gospel of Jesus is not the only ‘message of hope’ we hear in our world today. When I turn on the tv, open a magazine, walk into a shopping mall, or even when I visit some friends in their house I am bombarded with messages. The messages tell me that owning that car will make me powerful, or wearing this label of clothing will put me in amongst the hip and cool, or using that telephone company will somehow bring about world peace and feelgood harmony. And on and on. We live in a world where much is promised. The answer to all our problems can be found in acquiring an assortment of goods and services, from holiday houses to toothpaste. This is our salvation. The Promised Land is just over the horizon (ie post-purchase).

You see, there is no neutral, value-free space. We literally face competing views of ‘the road to salvation’ every day (listen closely to the tv or magazine ads next time you have the chance and you’ll see what I mean). With these loud alternative messages ringing in our ears, it’s not easy to believe that God really loves and accepts me as family; that the possessions I have and my social status are of no worth when it comes to measuring true success in life; that sacrificial giving for others is somehow better than receiving. But it’s true.

God goes with us into the complicated mess that we call life; he doesn’t leave us at the church door or when we close our bibles or when we say ‘amen’. God is with us. Our challenge is to find him in our everyday, and to let him guide our thinking, our deciding, our acting.

To do this we need to work hard. We need the regular encouragement and inspiration of others also on the road. We need to keep the biblical stories of God’s interaction with people current in our minds and hearts. We need to ask God for eyes and ears to see and hear what is true.

The alternative is that we swim with the tide out to the sea leading to nowhere. What good is it if you gain the whole world but forfeit your very life? The price of living this ‘other gospel’ is just too high.

cheers

Glen

LifeNet is a part of The Navigators and its emphasis is to help people develop an everyday faith that transforms everyday life, and to help make God accessible to the majority of people in our country who aren't currently going to church.
For more info check out the website: www.lifenet.org.nz