This morning when I woke up, Dad came with the mail and I asked for no reason, "Do I have any mail?" I didn't expect any, I just had nothing better to say. I took the mail from his hands to see what bills we'd have to pay and found a letter from Ransomed Heart ministries (there's a link on the right side of the page). Inside was a letter from John Eldredge compelling us to seek the Kingdom of God. I read it to the end, expecting him to ask for money to help the ministries. There was no such ending. He pressed forward the importance of living the Kingdom, wished us peace, then signed the letter.
I thought it was simply amazing.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone from a Christian organization--especially a leader--send out a letter to a whole bunch of people without asking for some type of donation or acceptance. His message was raw and honest, without an agenda. If there had been a request for money, I would've tossed the letter away and considered it done. But there was none, and it made me stop and think.
See, I find that if someone does something with an agenda, I don't really feel... captivated. It's like Rob Bell said: "If we love with an agenda... is that really love?" No, I don't think so. A lot of times we Christians can get into the mind-set that we need to do works with the agenda of letting others see us, so we can tell them we're doing it for Christ. Or we preach the Message with an agenda for them to come to our church and contribute. Or we love others with the agenda of just leading them to Christ. I may sound heretical, but this doesn't seem right to me.
Doesn't Christ tell us to 'hide' our good works? In other words, not do them for show? How is doing them with an agenda not doing them for show?
Are we called to strengthen our church buildings or to invite others into the Kingdom? If our pursuit is to buff up our church attendance, if our pursuit is not about bringing people into contact with the King, then are we really spreading the Message as Christ would? Again, I don't think so.
If we love other people just so they'll listen to us preach, are we really loving them? I don't think so.
These are my opinions, my rants. Don't swallow them whole. I could be wrong. And I could change my mind later on down the road.
I thought it was simply amazing.
I don't think I've ever seen anyone from a Christian organization--especially a leader--send out a letter to a whole bunch of people without asking for some type of donation or acceptance. His message was raw and honest, without an agenda. If there had been a request for money, I would've tossed the letter away and considered it done. But there was none, and it made me stop and think.
See, I find that if someone does something with an agenda, I don't really feel... captivated. It's like Rob Bell said: "If we love with an agenda... is that really love?" No, I don't think so. A lot of times we Christians can get into the mind-set that we need to do works with the agenda of letting others see us, so we can tell them we're doing it for Christ. Or we preach the Message with an agenda for them to come to our church and contribute. Or we love others with the agenda of just leading them to Christ. I may sound heretical, but this doesn't seem right to me.
Doesn't Christ tell us to 'hide' our good works? In other words, not do them for show? How is doing them with an agenda not doing them for show?
Are we called to strengthen our church buildings or to invite others into the Kingdom? If our pursuit is to buff up our church attendance, if our pursuit is not about bringing people into contact with the King, then are we really spreading the Message as Christ would? Again, I don't think so.
If we love other people just so they'll listen to us preach, are we really loving them? I don't think so.
These are my opinions, my rants. Don't swallow them whole. I could be wrong. And I could change my mind later on down the road.
1 comment:
Dude, you are right on mark. That really spoke to me. Especially doing good works, not "for show", because I have really been working on humbleness and not wanting attention for what I do. You are really annointed man.
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