This photo captures the attitude of too many people in the church.
Just labeling something “wheelchair accessible” doesn’t make it so. Sure, the right set of stairs has fewer steps, and it is certainly an easier climb for those in good health. But for those who can’t navigate steps, a few steps can be just as insurmountable as many.
So what does that have to do with the church?
We in the evangelical church do well in saying salvation is all by faith in Christ. You can’t earn or work your way into heaven; just trust Christ.
So far, so good.
We’re not like those other groups with all their rituals and rules: Jews with their strict adherence to the law … Muslims with their rigid prayer five times a day and other requirements … cults with their requirements of giving, mission work, deeds that move you higher up the path. Instead, the Christian church is all about grace.
But Christians have a lot of unwritten rules. These “rules” vary from congregation to congregation. Staunch fundamentalist groups preach grace while expecting church members not to listen to certain styles of music … put their kids in public schools … play the lottery … smoke.
Other churches can be more subtle in their expectations. To make a difference in the church and community you don’t drink (in public) … support liberal causes … hold to reformed theology … speak in tongues. The unwritten list varies as you drive down the street from church to church.
It’s a safe assessment that no pastor promotes this. (Well … most don’t.) But we have something ingrained in our old nature that says we still play a part in our salvation. That means after we come to Christ—after we’re saved and part of His church—we still have certain things we have to do to make the cut. Thirty-six percent of evangelicals believe their actions partly contribute to earning a place in heaven [State of Theology Research].
If there are twelve people on your pew next Sunday or in your Bible study group, odds are that four of them believe to some degree they’ve got to do their part to make it to heaven. That’s like saying, thanks to Jesus, Christians don’t have as many steps to climb. But to those of us disabled by our own faulty efforts, one step to climb is one too many steps.
Let me be clear: In Christ, there are no steps to climb. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Jesus climbed those steps for us and now He reaches back, holds out His hand, and says, “Trust Me.” And He lifts us up to be with Him.
“And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6-7).
Stop climbing—just walk with Jesus. And stop expecting others to climb by your set of rules.
Christ is the victor, and we—the aroma of Christ—cause different reactions in people. Those who choose to follow Christ are drawn to the sweet fragrance. Those who reject Christ are repelled, and that sweet smell is the smell of death to them.
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The Nazis knew the Allied forces would eventually try to step onto the continent, but where? The Allies had their sights on landing at Normandy, but they didn’t want the Germans to know that. So they created a fictitious army group, placed it in a British coastal area far from where the Allies were actually stationed, and gave the impression they were going to invade France at Pas de Calais, a good 200 miles up the coast.
Stop listening to these. They are nothing but lies. Jesus Christ changes everything.
We’ve given Memorial Day a celebratory feel with our long weekends, outdoor grilling, and sales, sales, sales. But that was not the original intent. It was first called Decoration Day. Immediately after the Civil War, mourners would gather at the graves of the fallen solders and decorate their graves with flowers. It was a truly somber event.
Some soldiers go to war unwillingly or die without ever knowing what hit them. Christian martyrs, however, died willingly for Christ. Many were given the option to recant and live. They died willingly, because they knew there is something far greater that awaits them.
All that changed with Edward Jenner (whose birthday—May 17—is remembered this week). It was 1796 in England, and Dr. Jenner noticed that the local milkmaids were not concerned about getting smallpox. Their work with cattle gave them cowpox, which turns out to be similar to smallpox, but extremely mild by comparison. Consequently, they acquired an immunity that also worked against smallpox.
Today’s American Medical Association would severely frown on his methods, bar him from practicing medicine, and reduce him to playing doctors in commercials rattling off the 300 side effects of this week’s newest drug, But things were different in 1796. Jenner took the young son of his gardener and cut him, creating a small open wound. He then had Sarah Nelmes rub the cowpox lesions on her hand against the boy’s open wound. No surprise: the kid got sick with cowpox.
And every time we observe communion, we are to remember this blood transference. As Jesus said, “U
Bathsheba had an affair with King David, which resulted in a pregnancy. After her husband was killed, she married the king and her child died. She had at least one other child, Solomon, but her entrance into motherhood was marred with sin.
I like trees—just don’t ask me to take care of one or even identify it.
1. The tree of life.
3. The cross of Christ. 