Part-Time Christians by Stephen Russell When seeking to find employment, most people look for a job that fits their needs. "I can only work twenty hours a week," or "I need these days off." In the world of employment this is to be advised; find a job that works for you. In the realm of serving God, this approach will not be tolerated. Many take this angle with the assembly of the saints. "I want to attend on Sunday mornings," or "I will attend so long as nothing else comes up." Surely we can not hope to please God with such an attitude. Let’s put aside for a moment the fact that we ought not forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:25). Consider the reason for the assembly; “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb. 10:24). We are giving and receiving a stirring up of love and good works. We need the assembly. So when we approach it as a place where we clock in or out and "put in our hours" our perspective is off. We shouldn’t plan to miss any of the services. Rather it should be one of the things we look forward to on a weekly basis. Someone asks, "Will I go to hell if I don’t go to church?" I’ll answer in the words of a good friend, "You’ll come a lot closer by not wanting to!" Then there are those who consider their time assembled as "church-time". When the last prayer is said "church-time" is over. Now it is time to go back to the daily walk of life (whatever that may be). These are those for whom "church" is something that is done. It is little more than an item placed on one’s agenda. There may be various reasons for their attendance. Perhaps they grew up going to church and figure that it is something that ought to be done. Could be they are trying to make their spouse happy or want their children to have good influences. Some even attend simply to make social contacts with the community. Whatever their reason, they are done with God when the closing prayer is said. For the Christian, our service to God is not measured by our time spent in a pew. We must be continuously serving God (cf. Rom. 12:1-2). Finally, there are those who do attend faithfully. They do participate in the worship services as well as in the work of the church. Yet still, they hold back from God. They are willing to show service to God only up to a point. Perhaps even sacrifices are made for the cause of serving Him. Schedules are set aside or money is spent to render due service to the Creator. However, there comes a point where the line is drawn. These are those who are willing to serve God until it gets too hard or to "unreasonable". Unfortunately for these, God is not satisfied with such wavering devotion. Paul says that we ought to be living sacrifices, and that this is our “reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). So then, after we have offered our lives TOTALLY over to God, we have merely done what was reasonable. How then should we deal with such actions as these? The answer is, of course, found in the word. First of all, part-time Christians are seeing God in the wrong way. We must not draw near to God and say, "What are you going to do for me?" The fact is that He has already and continues to do for us. He gives us the breath of life to get out of bed in the morning (Acts 17:28). He blesses us with rain and sunshine whether we deserve it or not (Matt. 5:45). He gave the most precious gift He could give when Christ was crucified (Rom. 5:8). To all this, what can we offer in return? Only our complete and total devotion. We offer Him our service every waking moment of our lives. No matter where we are who we are around or what the consequences may be, we serve God. That is what it means to be a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2). When it comes to this service, there are no days off. In fact, there are no moments off: it is a "full-time" position in the truest sense. We cannot put Christianity into a compartment of our lives. It is reasonable that we act somewhat differently at different times during the course of the day. When we are at work we behave in the manner befitting our profession. When we are at home we behave as a spouse or parent ought to. Surely there are some differences. But here we cannot insert being a Christian. Christianity must span every aspect. There can be no occasion or situation in which we say, "Now is not the time to behave like a Christian." We must always behave like Christ (I Jn. 2:6). So then we offer this service to God. We devote every waking moment to walking in the light of God’s word. Now what? The answer is don’t stop! If we ever do reach a pinnacle of service to God where we believe that we have done all that is commanded us we must know that we have gained God nothing. We are "unprofitable servants" says Luke’s account (Lk. 17:10). We must recognize that our service to God is not for His profit but rather for our own. Herein lies a fundamental difference from our illustration at the beginning of this article. When one is searching for employment, it is likely that he has something to offer the employer. When we come to God we have NOTHING that he needs (Acts 17:25). He has EVERYTHING we need. Let us then come to Him willing to put our whole lives to His service and hold nothing back from the one who is the source of all blessings.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 04:19:19 +0000
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