Bored? Fruitless? Jesus? Really?
If you’re BORED with your Christian life, then I can promise you – you aren’t living the version of Christianity found on the pages of the Bible. If you’re FRUITLESS in your Christian walk, then I can promise you – you aren’t following the historical Jesus who lived and died and rose up from the dead. Maybe you’re in love with some boy-band version of Jesus, but there’s no way you could be following the real Jesus. If you’re living a compromised life – then whatever Jesus is to you, He’s NOT Lord. You simply can’t defend a bored, fruitless, compromised “Christian” life – at least not from Scripture. Following Jesus doesn’t lead to those things – like, ever.
Pssst. That’s not in the Scriptures.
We see nothing but the polar opposite of that in the Scripture from people genuinely in pursuit of God. We see struggle, suffering, stretching and the miraculous, but not spiritual boredom. We see spiritual impact, influence and the Kingdom of God advancing through their lives, but not the status quo. We see their transformation and the character of Christ forming in them and the mission of Christ re-purposing their living. We see courage, strength, perseverance, the culture of Heaven, the fear of the Lord, prayer, the Word, forgiveness, but not spiritual fruitlessness.
But wait…there’s more.
You know what else we see? Spiritual rest, not apathy. The pursuit of holiness, not lust. People who no longer care about their bank accounts, reputations or being accepted by other people still wedded to Hell. Oh, and one more – we see God glorified by people willing to be wronged, imprisoned, beaten, tortured, ruined and put to death – but never by the compromised.
God help us LIVE the real thing.
I see a version of Christianity in the Bible that I so badly want to live. I see people following a God I so badly want to see one day. I see abundant living in them. Real life. Not all the lipstick-on-a-pig stuff we think is real. I see true family, true community, true love, true discipleship, true faith, and true purpose. Oh God, in Jesus’ Name, HELP US LIVE WHAT WE SEE IN THE BIBLE. Help us to be done with all our forms of godliness that have no power and forgive us for wrongly and arrogantly calling those forms “Christianity.” Amen.