When I was a kid, my Mom rarely went to church…….and my Dad…….never. And yet they sent me and my sister with the neighbors to a local Baptist church. Later a church opened up near our house and Mom attended with us. In a word, I was raised as a Christian…….but a fairly lukewarm one. In college I walked away from my faith. I wasn’t a “bad” person…….but I wasn’t a practicing Christian either. I ran my life according to my rules……..I did as I pleased…….I executed my plans…….and I did well.
Later I was dating a girl who was a strong Christian, and she called me out. She said, “What are you afraid of?…..are you afraid that God will ask you to do something that you don’t want to do?” In so many words, she was saying, “Are you afraid that God will disrupt your plans?” I realized that I was standing on the brink……of a precipice. I realized that to return to Christianity could drastically change my path in life. And I blinked. I broke up with the girl and returned to my self-directed…….successful…….non-Christian life. Decades later I found my way back…….and here I am.
So…….what’s the point?
The point is…….the precipice…….the brink.
Intuitively, we know that stepping off of the brink……embracing Christianity……..will change things……will change us.
Making a serious commitment to Christianity will permanently and significantly alter the trajectory of the rest of your life. I knew that when she asked the question……..and I can see the results of it now.
Sooner or later, most of us find ourselves in the same spot I was in……..standing on the brink…….with a permanently life altering decision to make. Do I step off of the edge and give up control of my life……or do I turn away and resume a safe, fairly predictable life where I get to make the choices?
Ultimately, that is the decision we face…….at the brink.
“WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE?”
Me……..or God.
For the first half of my life……I made the decisions…….based on what would get me ahead……socially, financially, and professionally…….over the next few decades. For the second half of my life…….I have tried to run my life on God’s rules…….love God/love man……..hoping to get ahead for eternity.
And I am happy……..and I am looking forward to a very bright future…….and not just for a decade or so…….but forever.
whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Jesus, John 5: 24, ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Paul. 2 Corinthians 17, ESV