The Easy Sell of YOU

What is mankind that God is mindful of us? 
And beyond that, exactly how personal does God get
with knowing us individually?

Evangelicals are fond of the personal relationship aspect of Christianity. Especially at Easter, pastors will often emphasize that “God loves YOU!”  Which God does, it’s just His love is on a totally different level than we can experience from fellow human beings. 

God loving YOU is an easy sell. 
It’s so inviting, costing us nothing,
that it’s almost a platitude in its commonly portrayed lack of depth.

Pastors continue “God cares about YOU!”  He cares about what you’re going through as an individual.  Which He does, but in a different way than we can fathom.  For that reason, it may not always look like He cares about YOU because He’s doing things His way, not the way any of us might want.  But like “God loves YOU”, the idea that “God cares about YOU” is an easy sell because it’s sold through the lens of our lives and the world revolving around us, not His Word and His Will.

“Jesus died for YOU,” is the Easter proclamation of many pastors.  Which is true but God cares about His Image and He cares about YOU—both/and—not either/or.  “Jesus died for YOU”, however, is the easy sell, and why? Because the focus is on YOU. 

So much emphasis on YOU,
it was all done for YOU, and how all YOU have to do is receive it,
risks turning the sacrifice of Christ backwards in a sense,
and makes YOU into the deity…instead of God. 

We can be so focused on YOU that we can totally forget that it cost Jesus everything.  It cost the Father everything.  Worship or exaltation of YOU had nothing to do with it. 

I know it’s hard for those of us with a more evangelical mindset, but today, I’d ask that YOU reflect upon how YOU are simply a side-beneficiary of a transaction that didn’t involve YOU…personally…at all.  It was personal between Jesus Christ—the Son of God—and God the Father.

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your sacrifice of love. Thank You for Your faithfulness to finish the work the Father sent You to do. Help us to balance our true understanding of the true love You have for us with the full knowledge that grace means–by definition–unmerited favor. There’s nothing we did to earn it. It was all You. Through the power of Your Holy Spirit, guide us to look beyond ourselves and give us discernment for the ways in which our Christian culture of tame Christianity leads us down a path of comfortable focus upon ourselves. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive the well-meaning pastors who fail to speak the cost of salvation, who for the sake of comfortable converts, fail to teach true Biblical Christianity, which is far from feel-good, easy sells. A call to crucify ourselves, our old ways, our old lives, and our old devotions, to pick up our cross and to follow You. Even if it’s into the way of suffering, this is the call of discipleship and what we owe You. We owe You our lives. We humbly ask Your help, for us to be bold for You, even more because the days are short before Your return in Judgment. Open our eyes to see the fields are ripe for harvest, give us hearts to love others, and send us as harvest workers for Your glory. Amen.