James Emory
White wrote in his blog (Oct. 7, 2013, Vol. 9, No. 80) we need to keep “First
Things First”. He emphasized the need to bring people into a saving
relationship with Jesus first, and then we start the process of transformation
leading to a fully devoted follower of Christ. Why bring up a topic like this?
Because we have far too many churches who feel these people of the world need
to come up to certain standards before we can allow them into the Kingdom of
God (meaning our tight-knit little Christian family).
The Act
comes before the Process, and conversion does not equal completion. You cannot
shape someone into the image of Christ if that person has never met Christ. The
words of Jesus to the rich, young man summarize the steps every individual must
take to have that special relationship with him. (Mark 10:17-22) Rather than
following all the right rules, a follower of Christ must eliminate everything
that stands between him and Christ. “Sell all that you have and give it to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come and follow me.” When we remove
the idols from our lives, then we can freely follow Jesus and begin the process
of replacing our idols with Christ. How many of our church members would have
been able to follow through on Jesus’ command?
The Apostle
Paul provides a valuable insight, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new
creation. The old has passed away, and see, all things have become new.” (II Corinthians
5:17) New creation leads to becoming Christlike. It is a lifelong journey that
involves commitment. The beginning, however, is a point of confrontation with
the Living Lord. Only then can there be a lifestyle change that is heart deep.
Before
Zacchaeus met Jesus (Luke 19:1-10), he was recognized as a Rome collaborating tax
collector. He was under suspicion of taking more money from the people than he
was due. No one could question what he did because he had the full authority of
the Roman government behind him.
Yet after
one meal with Jesus, Zacchaeus was ready to give away half of his possessions
to the poor and make restitution to all whom he may have defrauded. That is
what happens when Jesus says I want you in my company. After you have learned
from me, you will start behaving in a new way. You will be a new creature and
the old will have disappeared.
Too often our
traditional way of allowing people into our group has been through the three
step method of adopting proper behavior followed by believing the proper
doctrinal statements and concluding with permission to belong. People had to
act right (act like us) proving they really wanted to be a part of our group.
Once they acted in acceptable ways, then we would teach them the great truths
of our faith insuring they were of the right blood line. After they had passed
all the tests and shown they were good enough, we allowed them to add their
names to the roll and become a member of our family (though often on a
probationary basis).
That,
however, is not the way we find Jesus doing it in the Gospels. Jesus took
risks. Jesus demanded faith. Jesus looked at what people were and saw what they
could become. The Jesus Way was asking someone to belong to him and his
company. That lead to believing, having faith in what he said was Truth. The
result was a life that focused on behaving in a way that honored God and the
redeeming love he offered the world.
Jesus called
to a smelly bunch of fishermen and said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers
of men. Come and be a part of my company. While with me you will learn about
the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Then you will know how to behave as a citizen
of my Father’s Kingdom, as a child in the Family of God.”
