THE THREAT OF IRRELEVANCE

For those intensely interested in kingdom life, an insistent consideration is whether we are current. Is what we are doing relevant?

I'm not one of those who believes the Word needs help. I believe we do....and we always will.

One of the reasons Jesus died unfairly upon the cross is because the religious leaders of his day could not keep up with the moving hand of God. They not only refused; they rebelled.

We must be ever so alert to not possess such hearts as they. Sincerity was in their genes. Missing the mark was, also. We view ourselves as having stepped into Truth when the Pharisees and Sadducees simply were too hung up in their traditions to notice God had long passed them by. Their rituals were irrelevant.

We walk the same threatening trail. We are steeped in tradition to the degree it is/would be easy for us miss the Prince and His Promises for our future because our hands are currently to the plow looking backward at the field we have cultivated.

We live in a time of explosion. Wars and threats of wars are brought to our living rooms in high definition with a scroll of disappointments and crises streaming the bottom of the screen. Technology can't even keep up with itself; it has become so imaginative and so fast.

The Word still matters. In its perpetual power, however, it would call us to be current in our culture and this is where I/we may be asleep at the switch.

In my opinion both political parties in Washington have become mesmerized by their past traditional working habits. While surely weary of their pace and demanding schedules, the back door to responsibility and effectiveness seems to be wide open. Such has left us with icons with name plaques on their doors; but have long left both the intentions of the original government drafts and the representation of the common man they were so elected to serve.

Thus, the church must ever awaken to suspicion we might fit into similar shoes. We must look at the original draft (Word) and never leave it. The challenge is to take a look at "church" and see how close (or far) we are from the original. The one instigated by Jesus will most likely rock our current belief system; not because we are not sincere but because he is Jesus and his ways are always higher.

There is a great threat of irrelevance within us. The world will not only be better off when the gangsters lay down their weapons; but rather when Christians awaken from a sleep disorder which has become a haven to keep us busy while we keep our versatile programs well-oiled.

May we give attention to keeping up with the pace of the Savior and the need of the people.