Means or End?

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself who God really is to you? God or Jesus (for this discussion I will use the two interchangeably) for a lot of people is viewed differently to help them at different time in their life. Some view God as a "cosmic cop" or in the likeness of their biological father. Others view Him as a vending machine, here to give them whatever they want. Still some believe that He exists but plays no role in their life or world around them. A few say there is no god.

The next question that needs to be asked is "Why did you decide to become a follower or accept Jesus into your heart?" This might cause you to stop and think but whatever your conclusion is you will never be the same again. You might have asked Jesus into your heart because someone told you that if you did Jesus would make your life better, that you would be happy and after you die you would go to Heaven. Face it, we all know that the real motivation for wanting to go to Heaven is because we don't want to go to a horrible place like Hell! We sell cheap fire insurance instead of offering people an accurate picture of who God is.

I want you to be happy, you want to be happy, your church even agrees that you should be happy. You might have heard that God reigns in Heaven for the happiness of man, that Jesus died for the happiness of man, that Christianity was created for the happiness of man. However, this can't be farther from the truth! Somewhere along the way of Church history we started preaching a man centered gospel...that God is here for you. Come to Jesus and your life will be better and you get Heaven in the end. Somewhere along the line we made God a means to help us get to our end goal of happiness, blessings and Heaven...instead of God being the End that He so rightly deserves to be. Now all of this good when viewed as a by product and not a prime product. Try preaching this fluffy gospel to churches who are being persecuted.

I want to see people repent and come to Jesus on biblical terms today. Jesus never promised a life that would be a walk in the park, and He didn't ask you and I to take up our rose colored glasses. Instead He warned us that family, friends, and even strangers will hate us because they hated Him. Jesus told us that in order to follow Him we will daily have to deny ourselves, love and serve others, and take up our cross...as He modeled for us. My life is no longer my own.

At some point we all need to come to this place and decide if God is a means or way to get to something better in our life or the end...what our lives are to be purposed for. This came true for me...I had to come to a place where I wasn't going to follow and serve God because I wanted a blessing or position; and I was going to stop trying to make deals with God. I was going to worship Him, love Him, serve Him simply because He is worthy...even if He sends me to Hell in the end. Nothing changes the fact that I am a sinner saved through the gracious act of Jesus taking my place on the cross, and that God is good, holy and righteous and worthy of all praise and service. Come to Him on those (His) terms and leave yours out of it.