Wandering Crusader 294 Rest Easy

“An object at rest will stay at rest…” is the beginning of Newton’s First Law. The idea is that a physical body will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external force.

Not, scripture, I know. That does not mean it is not the truth. Scripture does not contain all that is true. It does not even cover all there is about Jesus that is true. Don’t take my word for that, listen to John the Beloved. “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”  John 21:25

Though he was not necessarily speaking about people, I quoted Newton to make a point about people. That point is that if you make a person comfortable, they will not move from that comfort unless forced to do so. The church today has turned a blind eye to this truth. We seek to make people comfortable with our message, comfortable in minimal-participation worship, and comfortable with the feeling that God owes us.

Not surprisingly, the result is Christians who comfortably believe little, trust less, and do nothing. We love the thief on the cross. He confessed Christ, died, and went to eternal life with God having done nothing else. We long to be like him! I can’t count the preachers who have told me that I can be. My Sunday school lesson told me; “A right relationship with God does not result from doing charitable deeds, keeping religious rules, or observing empty rituals. It results from placing our faith in Christ to save us.”

The above lesson is true, as far as it goes. It just doesn’t go far enough to be uncomfortable. Works don’t result in salvation; they are the result of salvation. You can’t live a Christian life that is pleasing to God without works. Works are the “signs following” believers to which Mark attested.

What exactly is an empty ritual? It is any repeated act devoid of meaning for the person doing the action. Communion or baptism can be an empty ritual if the recipient is only going through the motions. If we so choose, Christianity itself can become an empty ritual of comfortable salvation. It can also be an exciting journey in which the Holy Spirit powers us into new challenges beyond our comfort zone. The choice is ours.

Maranatha