In the book of John, Jesus prays for
those who would follow His teachings after He ascended into heaven. What I find
fascinating is that Jesus began by praying for what He didn’t want to pray.
Yeah, it sounds strange, doesn’t it? Why would anyone ever start praying by
asking God for what they were not asking? Maybe the clue is in what it was that
Jesus didn’t pray. He says, “I pray not that you take them out of the world,
but that you protect them from the Evil One.” (John 17:15)
Why did Jesus pray this way? I think
it’s because He understood human nature and He knew that, soon after His
ascension, we would want to remove ourselves from the world around us.
We’re not comfortable hanging out with
those sinners. More often than not, we treat the lost, those outside the
Church, as if they had some sort of “Social Leprosy”. We’re afraid we’ll catch
what they’ve got, so we avoid contact with them. Instead, we create Christian
versions of the world so that we never have to interact with these “Social
Lepers”. We have our own Christian Radio Stations, Christian Yellow
Pages,Christian Coffee Shops, Christian Book Stores, and all sorts of private
avenues where our contact with non-Christians is mercifully minimized.
I’m convicted when I realize that
Jesus didn’t even treat people who had actual leprosy this way, and yet I treat
those who think differently than I do as if they had some infectious disease
that I might catch if I’m exposed to them for any extended period of time.
Jesus expected that His disciples
would be salt and light in the world, not hiding under a basket waiting for the
second coming.
Paul the Apostle echoed the prayer of
Jesus when he instructed the Christians in Corinth about their interactions
with non-believers-“I have written you in my letter not to associate
with sexually immoral people; not at
all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and
swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.”(1
Corinthians 5:9-10)
Have we removed ourselves from the
world? If so, we’ve allowed the Enemy to pacify us into complacency. It’s time
to awaken from our slumber and burst out of our Christian bubble.
If we are to be the people of God, we
must go to where the people are, not expect them to come to us on our terms.
One thing I find fascinating as I
study the New Testament and the practice of the early church is that their
concept of salvation was much different than mine. When I think of salvation, I
usually think of that one day when, as a nine year old boy, I walked forward
and prayed with my pastor to ask Jesus into my heart. However, Peter and Paul
seemed to have a different view of salvation. In their minds, salvation was an
ongoing experience, not a one-time deal. “..And the Lord added to their number
daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
“For you are receiving the goal of
your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:9)
When we begin to think of Salvation as
a process, and not an event, it changes the way we think of Evangelism. The
early church fathers also had a great saying that has come to inspire my own
faith. The statement was “Conversatio Morem!” which can mean either “Death To
The Status Quo!” or “Constant Conversion!” depending on the context. This
phrase was indicative of the mindset held by the early church fathers that
salvation, or conversion, was something every disciple needed to experience
constantly, not just a one-time event or a single point in time.
In my own spiritual life I know I need
to daily acknowledge my need for Christ and for transformation.
In your own experience, what happens
when someone you’ve been praying for and witnessing to finally accepts Christ
as Lord and Savior? Don’t you cheer and weep and give high-fives to all your
Christian friends? Sure you do. That’s an appropriate response. Even the
Scriptures tell us that the angels in heaven celebrate when someone is saved.
(Luke 15:7-10)
However, our response and attention
usually diminishes soon after this event. I believe it’s because, for us, our
work is done. Our friend has “made it”.
They are “in”. They’ve crossed the
finish line and we can all move on with our lives now. But, if Salvation is a
process, and not an event or a point in time, then our work is not done. Our
friend has not come to the end of the
journey. Instead, our friend has only just begun. In other words, Salvation is
not the finish line, it is the starting line. If we begin to think of Salvation
in this way, as an ongoing, daily
commitment to following the marvelous person of Jesus, it will have a radical
effect on our methods of evangelism and the way we treat those we hope to lead
into this way of life.
