Several years ago my wife and I got a few spearmint sprigs to plant in one of our flower beds. Wow, what a mistake! We had thoughts of a refreshing minty scent blowing through the summer breeze. We also had visions of using a few leaves to adorn our meals. At first we set out a couple of sprigs, innocent enough, but the next spring those few sprigs had taken over the whole flower bed. First, we tried pulling them up. We thought we got rid of every plant. Then, the next season they came back with a vengeance. The root system was amazing! They came up everywhere. I’m convinced if we had not taken a garden tiller and tilled up the flower bed, by now those sprigs would have taken over the world!
Here is a tweet from a Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, that went viral a few months back, (7 years as an MP. Still waiting for a “Christian” to send me a letter on child poverty. Plenty on homosexuality and abortion. Reply; Retweeted …)
Matthew 5:16
Ye are the salt of the earth:but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
I am not a fan of polls, because I believe polls can be manipulated. But one poll I have read in the past several years is the approval ratings of Christians and the Christian church. The trends have continued to drop. We do not live in the same world our parents grew up in, where Christians were respected. We now live in a world that is beginning to have an unfavorable opinion of Christians. I know part of this is due to Christians being presented as wacko’s anytime they are shown on a TV show and/or interviewed on news programs. I also understand that Jesus taught that as followers we would endure persecution and hardships (I get that), but He was referring to standing up for, and living out the Gospel. Christians have become sidetracked. We continue to wage war on people, rather than the evil or the sin. We are no longer salty and have lost our viability, we are no longer making a difference.
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The goal of Christians should not be simply to win an argument, nor simply to have the best managed campaign. Winning public opinion is good, but does not take the place of the Gospel. If we were able to go to Planned Parenthood and debate them as to when human life began, and have them finally admit that abortion is murder, then, if we accompany their representative to interviews on every news venue across this nation, having them give full disclosure of their new found truth, the next day nothing would change. They would still have no trouble aborting the unborn at the same number as the day before. Evil is not overcome by winning debates, holding up posters or organizing rallies. It is like my struggle with the sprigs of mint, we are only fighting what we see, the real battle is underneath the surface. Jesus Christ did not come down to earth and die on the cross so we Christians could brag about being right. He came to seek and to save those that are lost, dying and going to an eternal hell. If simply winning an argument would save the world, all we would need to do is join a debate team and practice.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes…
One of my favorite kings from the Old Testament is Josiah. His grandfather, Manasseh, was notably one of the most evil kings in the history of Judah. His father, Ammon, was also evil and was assassinated after reigning only two years. Josiah became king when he was eight years old. Josiah started seeking God when he was young and began tearing down the places where false gods had been honored and worshiped by his fathers. At age twenty six, seeing a need to repair and refurbish the temple of God, he found out there was money and offerings that had already been collected for the work, but no one had cared enough to start the project. He sent his scribe, Shaphan, to the temple with money so that the construction workers could be hired. After the work began, the High priest, Hilkaih, found the ancient Book of the Law that had been given by Moses. Shaphan carried the book back to Josiah and read it out loud. Josiah, upon hearing the Law, tore his clothes and humbled himself and prayed, for he realized his father and grandfather had sinned, causing the people to sin. His repentance and actions held off God’s judgement on the land for generations.
Mark 12:28
…“Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this:‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. ’ The second is this:‘Love your neighbor as yourself. ’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
In the history of Judah, King Josiah was considered a great reformer, bringing the people back to God. If you analyze his actions they were easy to understand, not complicated, not glamorous, not saving the world like Superman. He simply took small actions on the things he saw that were needed to honor God. First, he got rid of anything that honored false gods. Then, he realized the temple needed repairing. He then started that process, which lead him to find the money that had already been accumulating. He then sent those funds to the temple so workers could be hired to accomplish the repairs. As the repair process started, Ancient Words were found. Ancient Words that had been given in generations past, but had been lost or misplaced (maybe from lack of use or interest). Once these Words were read, Josiah responded with humility, prayer and repentance.
Could you believe if I carried my own cross?
If I saw that the children were fed
If for a moment I held my opinion
And quietly led, could you believe?
Could you believe if I was really like Him If I lived all the words that I said If it was clear that I held in my heart What I know in my head Looking at me, Could you believe? – TWILA PARIS – COULD YOU BELIEVE
As followers of Christ, we are not all called to build glass cathedrals, nor are we all called to be missionaries in the Congo. We are simply called to do what we already know to do. Look around at our lives and our homes and get rid of anything that does not honor Christ. Stop supporting unGodly things in our life, cleanse our home of TV shows and magazines that defend the very things we speak out against. Use the Internet for good, not for evil. Then, we should find a local Bible-believing congregation and support it. Not just with our presence. We should get involved, get our hands dirty, give our offerings that have been going to honor other things, and now let them honor God. Find out where we fit: feeding the poor, teaching the children about God, visiting jails, helping the single parents, helping the widows; there is always something that we need to do. Next, let us repent and then apply the Ancient Words that we already know to our lives. As Matthew 7 teaches, let’s take the plank out of our eyes, so we will be able to help take the speck out of our neighbors eye. Let’s worry about our own sin and stop judging someone else’s sin, just because it is different.
“Give me one hundred men who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergyman or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth.” —from a letter in the Works of John Wesley
The same polls that show an unfavorable opinion trending towards Christians also reflect that in 2012, 76% of the people in The United States claim to be Christian. The total population is considered to be around 315 million, so that would make around 239 million professing to be Christians. If, tomorrow those 239 million woke up and silently followed the path and actions that King Josiah followed, it would change the world. God is a righteous judge and He will judge our world, but if we will humble ourselves and pray, then do what we know to do, He will heal our land.
1 Peter 4:17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God…
When we tilled up the roots of the mint sprigs, with the garden tiller, we exposed them to the sun, they quickly died. It is the Christians that are blocking the Son, not the world.