I knew some students in college who signed up in those contract classes to get a C because of the level of work they were willing to do. I couldn't understand that. A C was barely average. I also know for a fact that in a couple of classes I was glad to get a C. It could have been a lot worse.
There are four C's, however, that I have come to see as critical that we need to seek in such a way as to incorporate them into our lives. They will make all the difference in the world for our personal lives and the lives of our churches. With them we have a chance of glorifying our Lord. Without them at best we are average humanists seeking to get by on our strength alone. That won't get us far in terms of eternity.
These four C's are found in a series of scripture texts, easily read, easily memorized, but not so easily lived out. I would even dare to call them the Four Great C's due to their importance in showing the priorities of a Christian's life. They are familiar to all of us, but they remain a difficult standard by which to live.
The first I term the Great Calling of Matthew 6:33, "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness..." We are called as followers of Christ to have the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, his nature, as our ultimate goals. We cannot be torn between earth and heaven, or materialism and God. We are servants given the freedom to choose whom we will serve, but we will serve someone. Christ calls us to serve God and seek all that he represents.
The second Great C is the Great Commitment of Luke 9:23, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross each day, and follow me." I appreciate the emphasis that Luke adds for daily cross-bearing not mentioned in the other synoptic Gospels. Christ does not accept followers who see a commitment to him like a magazine subscription, to be cancelled or renewed based upon a matter of convenience. It is a life-long commitment. It is a self-sacrificing commitment. It is a commitment that involves personal identification with Jesus.
Matthew 22:34-40 gives us a statement of the third Great C, the Great Commandments. Love is the heart and soul of our relationships first with God and then secondarily with others. We love God with all our being and that must involve a complete surrender of our beings to him. Only then can we know how to love ourselves and others. In surrendering to God he teaches us what love is, how it reveals our value to him, and how it is to be revealed to others through our lives.
The final C is the familiar passage that concludes the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew 28:18-20, the Great Commission. Christ tells his disciples and us that he is commanding us to take the news of the Kingdom of God to all peoples and language groups. He can do this because the Creator has given all authority to him. We are to lead others to be followers of Christ. We are to lead them to identify in overt manner with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. We are to teach these new disciples to obey everything we ourselves have learned of Christ and seek to obey.
When we focus our lives on the priorities that Jesus laid before us, there is little room for confusion. Our churches must likewise not become distracted by secondary matters and ideas and issues that matter little to God and his Kingdom. As we allow the nature of the Kingdom and the righteousness of God to shape our church family relations, we will find that all are welcome in our fellowship to confront the Living Lord and be transformed by his love into what the Father wants us to be.
Churches as well as individuals must see that it is the Kingdom that is important, not themselves, and so must live out the crucified lifestyle in following their Master. Churches must examine budgets and calendars and see if the Great Commission really does dominate their resources. Only then can we say we have prioritized living out the C's.
