How would your life change if you were the only Christian in your nation? In your state? Your county? Your city? Your neighborhood? Your family?
For some of you, those last two situations are very real.
When we consider what it would be like to be the only one ultimately responsible to deliver the good news to a group of people, we can start to feel the pressure that brings, and imagine how our lives would have to radically change. But is this hypothetical scenario really that hypothetical?
The Bible is against idolatry of all sorts. This seems like an obvious statement, but it can catch us by surprise when it confronts the idols that we didn't fully realize we were worshipping.
"We prioritize prayer in this life as we live for the next."
Not all priorities are formal. In fact, the vast majority of true priorities in our lives are instinctual and thoughtless. This is evident when it comes to eating: we do not have to deliberately make time in our schedules to satisfy our hungry tummies or think through strategies about how we will get calories into our systems (diets excepted).
Is prayer a true priority for us?
"We study the Bible because it is the whole counsel of God."
One of the biggest misconceptions people have about the Bible is that it is incomprehensible. Though it is true that Scripture is complex and profound, there could hardly be a bigger lie than claiming that it is beyond our apprehension and understanding.
Consider the proclamation of Deuteronomy 29:29: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever..."
"We proclaim the gospel to the world so that they may be saved."
There have been a few times in our lives when we've missed out on something we wished to be a part of because nobody told us. Perhaps we even said, "Nobody told me!" with bitterness in our breath. Such circumstances can enrage or otherwise depress us. When the stakes are higher, the feelings are more intense.
"We love each other and cherish the fellowship of God's people."
When a young zebra is separated from the herd, he is much more susceptible to the wiles of lions. Perhaps you've seen footage from the African safari of young animals unable to defend themselves, falling prey to predators. For the tender-hearted, it can be difficult to watch; for the rest of us, it satisfies a morbid curiosity.
"We serve God wherever we are, knowing He has put us there."
Where does God's will meet (or override) our stewardship? This is one of the most difficult topics that we face.
There's a man who invests and saves his money diligently throughout his life, only to encounter circumstances totally outside of his control that leave him empty-handed. It was the will of God. Yet there's another man who does not invest or save his money and he, too, is left empty-handed. It was his lack of stewardship. Not so fast. The first man was not exempt from engaging in good stewardship and the second man was not exempt from the will of God. Both men live with both realities -- just as we do (in all things, I should add).
"We prioritize prayer in this life as we live for the next."
Prayer can be an evangelistic tool.
When we pray with our children, they hear the desires of our heart and how we speak to and of God. This is powerful. When we sit down for a meal with an unbeliever and let him or her know that we would like to thank God for the food before we eat, the unbeliever is unexpectedly entering into a spiritual moment. This too is powerful.
"We proclaim the gospel to the world so that they may be saved."
The story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 is absolutely astounding. An angel told him where to go (v. 26), the Spirit told him who to talk to (v. 29), and the Ethiopian man asked him to teach the Bible to him (v. 31). Philip proclaimed the gospel of Jesus to him (v. 35) and the man believed and was baptized (v. 38). After that, the Spirit raptured Philip to a city dozens of miles away.
Well, that was easy!
"We study the Bible because it is the whole counsel of God."
The Bible is the whole of God's counsel--not the whole of all we may want to know. I would love to understand the Trinity more deeply. I would like to hear more about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. You could even say that I'm actually curious to know how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.
But God--in His goodness--has opted to give us what we have in the Bible as the fullness of His counsel. Fittingly, this conviction of ours is revealed in counseling. We practice biblical counseling because the Bible is God's whole counsel. We don't practice emotions-based counseling, trend-based counseling, or opinion-based counseling. All of our counsel comes from the counsel of God, which is the Word of God.
What this means is that when we respond to the problems people have, we must be led by Scripture. How tragic would it be if we provided an answer to someone's spiritual question with the whole counsel of God closed and tucked away on a shelf somewhere. When we open our mouths to speak, may our words reflect the Word. May our speech be guided and shaped by the Bible--the whole counsel of God.