(Don't Just) Beam Me Up, Scotty
GodWords Newsletter #68
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Beam me up, Scotty.
Believe it or not, those words were never spoken during the original Star Trek series. Still, for those of us who are chronologically advantaged, this was a common refrain from childhood. Imagine being able to go virtually anywhere in a moment! This provided endless opportunities for our young imaginations.
Of course, being beamed around the galaxy wasn’t actually the goal. Captain Kirk and his crew weren’t transported to the planet’s surface just to ARRIVE there. They were trained specialists, and their job was to save the planet, or rescue someone, or any number of other very important tasks.
Sadly, many Christians have ONLY arrived. We’ve been transported - beamed into the Kingdom, if you will - moving from death to life. We were lost and now we’re found. We made it, and it’s wonderful. Still, after a while, we sense there’s something missing. We’re not sure what it is. Most of us understand there’s more to being a Christian than just showing up at church for the rest of our lives… but, after a while, we conclude that we may always be a little disappointed in our spiritual lives.
I don’t know if you know this, but there’s more to being saved than simply being saved. Being born again is a goal, but it’s not the only goal. Check out Ephesians 2:10.
We are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
When God re-made you, He began equipping you to accomplish specific, pre-prepared tasks on His behalf. Do you know what those tasks are? Are you a trained specialist? Are you saving the planet, rescuing people, and engaging in other very important tasks?
There are tons of passages in the New Testament that tell us of this something more. Jesus talked about it, saying that He came to give us full, abundant lives. Paul wrote about it, comparing his spiritual life to winning a contest. Peter even laid out what looks like a plan… a pathway for living as Jesus intended.
Would you like to see the plan? Would you like to know what you need to do in order to have that abundant life… that something more?
… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
Hmmm. Peter starts with faith. Too often, Christians end with faith and then wonder why they’re not living the victorious, abundant, joyful life they hear about in sermon after sermon. Could it be that following Jesus is a much longer, more awesome journey than we thought, and that being born again is only one milepost along the way?
If we look at Peter’s words as an examination of spiritual maturity, then we start with faith and end up with love… the kind of love that God shows. In-between we find what Peter calls qualities that keep us from being nearsighted and blind, ineffective and unproductive.
Look at the list. Put yourself on it. Be kind and realistic: which of these spiritual qualities do you already possess? Which do you lack? If you can pinpoint your progress on this spiritual path, you can also see clearly which quality you can work on next.
Yes, I said “work.” This isn’t working for salvation, which has nothing to do with good works. This is the work that God has set aside for us to do. We’re taking part in building the Kingdom. We’re learning to be like Jesus, and helping others learn to be like Jesus.
Some of you may need a pat on the head, and to be told that you’re doing just fine. Seriously. Growing spiritually is hard enough… you don’t need me to smack you around if you’re already struggling.
On the other hand, some of you may need a kick in the pants, and be reminded that following Jesus isn’t really about you and your happy, comfortable life. Jesus didn’t come to be served, but to serve. If we’re to be like Him - and we are - then those of us who have been born again for some time need to get off our rusty dusty back ends and get serious about growing up.
In my experience, most of the thousands I’ve met in churches have stopped at step 3. They have faith. They’ve added some goodness to it, adjusting their behavior to avoid most of the sins they used to live with. They’ve added at least a little knowledge to their goodness… but too many of us fail to keep maturing. To some extent, this falls on the shoulders of our pastors and teachers. In reality, if you’ve been born again for a couple of years and have regularly attended a local church, you should be taking matters into your own hands and requesting more help.
I’m here to help. There are tons of others around who are very serious about providing you with all the tools and help you need to grow as God intended… to become the person God created you to be. All of this is actually harder than doing nothing, but it’s worth it. Millions of us can tell you that actually following Jesus is better than simply having arrived. Are you discontent? Do you want more?
You can have more. All it takes is being honest with yourself about where you stand, and where you want to be. Then you can reach out and ask a more mature believer (or two, or more) to walk the journey with you. You’ll never be the same again!
I love you all.
❤️
The God of Small Things
Some think God doesn’t care about your parking space, or your lost keys, or other “small things” in your life. Here’s a good reminder of How God sees us.
How Jesus Really Feels About You
I have to admit, there are many times I feel God must be generally disappointed in me. I need regular reminders that He isn’t like my earthly father, or like my teachers or bosses. If you haven’t read Dane Ortlund’s Gentle and Lowly, I recommend it. Here’s Tim Challies’ review of Ortlund’s follow-up book.
Putting the Courage Back into Encouragement
In the Bible we read that Barnabas was known for being an encourager. I’d like to be more encouraging. It means to give someone more courage, and these days a lot of people around us really need a boost.
A Parent’s Guide to Talking with Kids about Technology
As a web guy, I spend all day behind my keyboard. I’ve been online since 1997, and have literally seen the good and bad of the interwebs. I was an adult when it started, and I can’t imagine what it would be like to grow up never knowing life before. Here’s some help for struggling parents.
Name Changes in the Bible
A lot of people in the Bible had their names changed, or went by more than one name. I appreciate your patience while I compile a comprehensive list of all of them. If you can think of people I’ve missed, please use the form at the bottom of the page.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
- Proverbs 15:22
Come and join the reapers, all the kingdom seekers
Laying down your life to find it in the end
Come and share the harvest, help to light the darkness
For the Lord is calling faithful men
Faithful Men by Twila Paris
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I spent many younger years not growing beyond knowledge to self-control. But when I started to pray like Epaphras, who prayed for his church to be mature, I started maturing. Now years later I think I look a little more like Peter's full list, by God's grace.
This is one reason why we pray what we do.
I've definitely been bouncing around between goodness and self-control.