How do we measure our faith? What’s our metric? How do we know how we’re doing as Christians? We used to celebrate people’s attendance. We would bring them in front of the church and give them a pin. That’s not bad, especially in today’s culture where regular church attendance has become two out of four Sundays. So much for commitment, right? Remember when you got a star for bringing your Bible, another star for bringing a friend or memorizing a Bible verse and another check mark if you brought an offering?
Those things seem dated but probably need to make a comeback. The trouble is we thought we were becoming legalistic, so we stopped—that and it was probably someone only attending 50% of the time that wanted it stopped if you know what I mean.
Those metrics aren’t bad but they don’t measure the heart. I read somewhere that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)” Let’s chase that down with, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart. (Proverbs 21:2).” Like they say, “At the heart of every problem is the problem of the heart.”
As a pastor I often hear people defend their lack of stars and check marks by saying, “God knows my heart.” When I hear that I always think, that’s the problem, God does know your heart and He’s not impressed.
I love my denomination and I was recently reading through our annual prayer guide. It’s good, and those people work hard putting it together. But in the prayer guide was in ad for a conference for those who want to go deeper in their faith. Whoa! What bona-fide Christ-follower doesn’t want to go deeper in their faith? Who doesn’t want to know how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is (Ephesians 3:18)? Do we need to start singing “Deep and Wide” complete with hand gestures in Big Church on Sunday morning again? My point is we have created a caste system within the church. Those who are “shallow” and those who like to go “deeper.”
God tells us ALL to be “all in.” ALL of us are to love Him with everything that we have got, not some of us, ALL of us (Matthew 22:34 - 40). Anything less is, well, less. Last time I checked Jesus did not offer conferences. He gave birth to the church and church really is enough. I heard someone say yesterday that we love events and hate processes. I think that’s truth and discipleship is a process. It requires us doing things that we used to give out star stickers and check marks for. So listen, if you want to be a deep, big time Christian get in the process of following Jesus.
Start the process by going to church every time the doors are open, read your Bible every day, pray, pray and then pray some more, give when they pass the plate and be generous, serve, use your spiritual gifting, hang out with other Christians as much as possible, hang out with big time sinners so they can meet Jesus, love your neighbor, love your enemy and do good to them, grow your faith, trust the Lord and through these discipleship rhythms let God change your heart. And in the process if you get some stars, an attendance pin and check marks consider it a blessing.
He told me to tell you that.
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