Lukewarm?

"Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls." ~Mother Teresa

I'm going to come right out and ask: Should I feel guilty for not attending church every Sunday? For not owning a copy of the Message Bible or attending every Beth Moore study my church offers? For disdaining trends that go through the church and trying to purge buzzwords from my speech? Yikes, I've never read The Purpose Driven Life, and my kids aren't going to VBS this summer. I'm not in a small group.

Don't get me wrong, I believe, I pray, I read the Bible, and I want my life yielded to God's will. I want to love others with His love, and I pray to be a light that shines before men and points them to Him. (a la Matthew 5:16).

The charcoal grill analogy seems to fit here. Pour on some lighter fluid, throw a match on those coals, and you get some impressive flames! But you don't really want to cook on that until the flames settle, and the coals are hot within. The true heat is the greatest and most useful at the same time that the visual effect is less dramatic. That's the kind of Christian I want to be. Maybe not so flamboyant, but giving off some heat and getting some cooking done.

I'm not complaining about my church here, or trying to denigrate anyone's ministry. God is too big for me to say that my approach is the best one. I think that there is a place and a purpose in God's kingdom for an infinite variety of ministries, worship styles, music, and Bible versions. I'm glad that God is that big, because if my little existence could fully mirror Him, He wouldn't be much of a God at all, would He?

What then is my point? Maybe a word of encouragement to myself and to a kindred spirit who may stumble across my thoughts here. Prayerfully seek the ministry that the Lord has given you. Maybe it looks small to the world, but don't be deterred. I believe that sometimes your ministry is truly just your family, and please don't read too much into my use of the word "just". We may never in this life see the fruit of all the seeds we sow.

In Matthew 5:16, Jesus instructs us to shine our light before men, so that our good works (i.e. fruit) will point people to God. Consider Galatians 5:22-23 (NASV): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." I look into my spiritual mirror, and measure these things in my own life. I ask God to help me in the many ways I fall short. I trust Him to use these fruits for His purposes, and to minister to others through me better than I could ever do by my own power.


"Philosophy is the love of wisdom: Christianity is the wisdom of love." ~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare, Guesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

Note: all quotes from: http://www.quotegarden.com/