Surrendering Your Life To God: Are You Madly in Love with God? (Part 2 of 2) (Reader Discretion Advised!) 

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

“Lukewarm living and claiming Christ’s name simultaneously is utterly disgusting to God.”  Francis Chan

There is one and only one God and… He loves us! Think about that! This should blow our minds! He created everything before us–trees, rivers, animals, the sky, mountains, colors, laughter, music–and gave us life– yet we take little notice of Him most of the time! In fact we live our lives on most occasions as if God doesn’t exist!

This is a huge accusation to make–but it’s become the truth that now characterizes our society and yes, the church.We’re comfortable with what’s easy, safe, comfortable, and just looking out for our well-being. We give God only a little part our lives and think that’s enough. We give out of guilt, serve out of obligation, worship only to show off our musical talents, engage in Christian media to be entertained, and attend church to earn brownie points with God. God is our “magic genie”–He’ll give us what we want and live to serve our needs. The God of the universe is here for our benefit; to make our lives happy and fill our plates with everything we could possibly ever need or want out of life.

You are probably in self defense right now, questioning whether this is really true about your own life. Before you completely accuse me of being judgmental or ignorant you need to really dig deep and look at your life. Ask yourself: Are you truly madly in love with God? To you live to serve Him and others wholeheartedly? Do you put yourself in positions where you’re vulnerable and you MUST trust in God at all costs? Do you give beyond what’s comfortable and easy?  Let’s first look at the problem before we discover how we truly lived surrendered lives to Christ.

Our society is all aimed at keeping us comfortable and safe. From our cars to our home security systems–we  love the feeling of  being safe.  Also we like to be entertained with movies, television, concerts, music, videogames–as long as we don’t have to think for ourselves, make risky decisions, and step out of our comfort zones. The pursuit of happiness has become the American dream. Once we have a sizeable income, with a fancy home, cool gadgets, a stylish car, the latest versions of technological advancements–we’re made it in life. We’ve become prisoners of our own pursuits, pleasures, and preferences that God has become just an afterthought and His purpose for our lives is utterly prevented at all costs. Sadly, we fail to recognize that this is not how God measures success. In the parable of the sower given by Jesus there are four different responses to the seed being sown in the soil. If we’re honest with ourselves we would see that most of us are the soil that chokes the seed because of all the thorns in our lives. (Luke 8:4-15) A thorn is anything that distracts us from God. There’s just too much stuff in our lives. Money, activities, sports, addictions, television, the internet, shopping, parties– are all piled on top of our relationship with God. A lot of different things are good by themselves, but when it’s all put together it keeps us from living passionately for God.

In the church today, numbers impress us. We gauge the success of an event by how many people are in attendance or how many come forward. Big crowds wow and amaze us. Everything is measured by the amount of members our church has. The goals of American Christianity today are about having a nice marriage, children who don’t swear, a comfortable lifestyle with a suburban home, and having enough savings to retire around the age of 65. But actually taking the words of Christ literally is almost never considered. That’s only for the “radicals” and missionaries. Most of us want a balanced life of control, safety, and one that involves no suffering. So now we have to ask ourselves, are we madly in love with God or do the words lukewarm, halfhearted, sometimes committed come to mind in regards to your relationship with God? Here are a few descriptions of lukewarm people taken from Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. Take a close look to see if they describe your life:

• Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so.
• Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right when they are in conflict. They desire to fit in both in the church and outside of it; they care more about what people think than what God thinks of their lives and hearts.
• Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want only to be saved from the penalty of their sin. They don’t genuinely hate sin and aren’t truly sorry for it; they’re just sorry because God is going to punish them.
• Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet do they do not act. They assume such action is for “radical” Christians, not average ones.
• Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They don’t want to be rejected and don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.
• Lukewarm people gauge their morality by comparing themselves to the secular world. They’re satisfied because they don’t swear, watch rated R movies, drink alcohol, attend wild parties, or gossip while the people around them do.
• Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are certain limits to how far they will go with their time, money, and energy they are willing to give.
• Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, but rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor.

The following profiles are not meant to be used as ammunition to judge a believer’s salvation. Instead it’s meant to be an examination of whether or not we are living completely surrendered lives to Jesus. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5) We are all flawed human beings, and no one is totally immune to the above examples. There is however a big difference between a life that is characterized by these mentalities and those who are being radically transformed by Christ. Now let’s dig a little deeper in the main issue:

So how does God deal with the lukewarm? In Revelation 3:15-18 He tells us: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Jesus’ call to commitment is clear: It’s all or nothing. You’re either hot or cold. For Him or against Him. There is no in between! The truth of the matter is we’re only willing to make changes in our lives if we think it affects our salvation. We ask questions such as: Will I still go to heaven if I go to a party and get drunk?, Do I have to get baptized to be saved? If I have sex with my girlfriend, am I still a Christian? Do I have to give 10% percent of my income to my church? Our concern is more on going to heaven than loving Jesus and this has become the tragic state of our hearts.

We usually don’t mind offering God our leftovers. We find it easy to fill ourselves with what the world has to offer and then give God whatever is left on our plates. Hosea 13:6 states: “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” A flimsy two minute prayer once a day, a few dollars in the offering plate, reading a chapter of the Bible when we feel like it,—We throw scraps to God because we think something is better than nothing. God on the other hand considers this point of view as evil. Yes, evil. Our initial response is to say giving something is better than nothing. But is it? Does anyone enjoy praise because it’s out of obligation or guilt? Why would we think God would want any differently?“When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 1:8) God is not pleased with when we give Him what’s leftover—He wants your best and only your best!

Success to God is measured by how we love and not much else really matters in the end. To follow Christ isn’t something that can be done halfheartedly on the side when we feel like it. How many of us would really leave our families, jobs, friends, homes, communities if Jesus asked us to? No explanation, no directions, no roadmap–Jesus just asks you to leave everything behind and follow Him. Are you really willing to follow Him at any cost? How we spend our time, what our money goes towards, and what we do and say is all equivalent to choosing God or rejecting Him. Nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God. Nothing. Holding nothing back is what true faith is all about. It’s betting everything we have on the hope of eternity, not what we can see in front of us or what feels right.

The answer is love. When you’re in love with someone you go to great lengths to be with the one you love. You talk with them even if you’re busy or in a hurry, and you’re willingly to spend a small fortune of money of them. Being apart from each other is painful, miserable, and unbearable. You spend all your time thinking about them–any chance you get to be with them you jump at. The same should be true with our relationship with God. The solution to the problem isn’t to try harder, fail, and then make bigger promises to God just so we can fail again. When we love God out of obligation, we focus even more on ourselves. Instead pursue His love, running towards Christ, remembering that He is all you’ll ever need. Through Christ we are free, and loving Him and others becomes more natural. The more we focus on Him, the easier it is to love Him and others. This is where true satisfaction is found. Look at these intimate words to God written by the Psalmists:  “Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.” (Psalm 90:14) “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm 16:11) When you look at your relationship with God as a chore, a sacrifice; then you are getting the glory–not God. God gave us life so that we might seek Him, know Him, and love Him, not because He needs us!

Sometimes we assume that if we’re nice, kind, and polite; people will know that we are Christians. Truth of the matter is it doesn’t usually work this way. There are a lot of non-believers who are kind, generous, and fun to be around with. True love, though, makes you stand out. You have to become obsessed. Obsessed with your love for God. What does it look like to be obsessed? Here are a few descriptions from Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love on what it means to be obsessed:

• Obsessed people love those hate them and who can never pay them back.
• Obsessed people aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. They care more about God’s kingdom coming to earth than being shielded from pain and distress.
• Obsessed people live lives that connect them with the poor in some way or another.
• Obsessed people are more concerned with obeying God than doing what is expected of them. They do things that don’t always make sense with what the world defines as success.
• Obsessed people seek to make themselves less known and Christ more known.
• Obsessed people do not consider service a burden. They take joy in loving God by loving people.
• Obsessed people a characterized by committed passionate love for God, above everything else and every other being.
• Obsessed people have an intimate relationship with Him and are nourished by His Word every day passionately seeking Him.

Are you obsessed with Jesus? By now you’re probably wondering what all of this means to you. The answer can be stated simply, but is complex to grasp: We have to start living our lives in faithful, committed, whole-hearted surrender to God.I’m not saying you should sell everything you have, quit your job, and become a missionary for a third-world country. Instead take a hard look at your life. Are you totally committed to Christ? Living as if every person you came in contact with was Christ?  Loving with reckless abandon? Also when doing this, don’t compare what you’re doing for Christ to someone else’s life. God calls us to be ourselves not someone else. God has created unique people to accomplish a vast array of purposes throughout the world. Another thing to keep in mind is that it takes a deliberate pursuit and attentiveness for Christ to live a fully surrendered life. If you stop pursuing Him, your relationship will deteriorate and die—just like any other relationship. Finally, remember you are never alone. God is always with you and has given you His Holy Spirit. It is by His Holy Spirit that we can live lives that God has called us to live. He provides all we need; all we have to do is trust Him to carry out His will in our lives. Then at the end of your life when it’s all done and said you can say: ^“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Timothy 4:7) So don’t settle for a lukewarm approach to God’s love; give Him everything you have. Declare  your love of Jesus to the world! Let Him become your magnificent obsession! After all, who loves a constant diet of leftovers?

**Next week we’ll begin looking at the first principle of SPECIAL: Our Identity in Christ. Also the Manual and SPECIAL sections will be launched sometime next week and it’ll add on to the brief intro I’ve given you on surrendering to Christ in these past two blogs. There’s also a new Profile on Francis Chan who wrote Crazy Love which is the book that inspired me to write this blog. I highly suggest reading this book if you haven’t already! God Bless.**

Sources:

Francis Chan Crazy Love. David C. Cook Distribution: Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2008.