Alright, folks. I've got a confession to make. Remember the night of that terrible explosion in West, TX? Some of probably felt it. I was in North Dallas when it happened so I felt nothing. I was just left confused by a series of tweets from my friends in Waxahachie. "Was that Earthquake?" "Did we just have an Earthquake?" "That was some crazy thunder." Stuff like that.
The explosion devastated a lot of lives. It caused a lot of damage. That night, as I got ready for bed, I had made up my mind that I needed to do something. I call myself a Christian. I am a follower of Jesus Christ and wish to represent him well on Earth. Paul says that we are Christ's ambassadors. The world is to see how great/caring/loving/selfless Jesus is through us.
So I went to bed that night planning on waking up early the next morning, calling churches in West and asking if they needed volunteers. I was willing to do anything. I'd hand out food, organize donated clothes, help people salvage possessions from destroyed homes…anything.
And you know what happened the next day? Nothing. I didn't do it. I didn't do anything. I didn't even give blood. I just went through my normal day.
That is really embarrassing. And it happens all the time. I talk myself out of doing something for the sake of Jesus and his gospel all the time. You know why I didn't go? Because It would have cost gas money. It would have taken up my whole day. I would have been uncomfortable.
I think a lot of Christians do this. We talk ourselves down from doing something that others would deem "crazy" or "foolish" for God. Remember the last night of youth camp when our heads were swimming with what we could do when we got home? We were excited. We were motivated. We were in love with Jesus.
"I could ________ for Jesus."
"I could give up __________."
"I could go ___________."
"I could give ___________."
We're really good at talking ourselves out of it.
But look at how Jesus talks in the gospels. He encourages the "crazy" and "foolish" things. He told a rich man to sell all of his possessions and follow him (Matthew 19:21). He tells us to lose our lives (Matthew 16:25).
I should have gone to West. I should have at least done SOMETHING. I could have just given blood. But I talked myself out of it. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to guilt anyone about not doing anything for West. Maybe you did do something. If you did, awesome!
Another thing that happens when someone talks like this is that people accuse them of preaching a Works Based salvation. Stop it. THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING! Going to West would not have saved me. Giving sway all of my stuff and moving to Africa won't save me. Putting all of my love and trust ("believing") in Jesus Christ is what saves me. But all of that love and trust that I put in Jesus should do something to me. Just think about who Jesus is! Think about what He did! Think about how loving and trustworthy He is!
I should love and trust Jesus enough to do ANYTHING for Him. I should be motivated by love. I should feel safe, secure, and free because of that trust. He's got me! "But what if--" NO! Whatever happens I know that He's got me. I trust Him! I should love and trust Him enough to put myself in uncomfortable or foolish situations for the sake of His gospel.
What have you talked yourself out of lately? What were you supposed to do? What were you supposed to give? Where were you supposed to go? Wo were you supposed to pray for?
It's never to late.