If you are anything like me, there are days that you feel pretty good about your walk with God. For me, it’s the days that I start off with my Bible reading, I remember to pray for everyone to whom I promised I would do so, and I explicitly share with others what God is doing in my life. There are other days, however, when I’m not feeling “on” and there’s probably a part of me that secretly hopes nobody is looking at me for a representation of Christ on that particular day. Even if my actions don’t betray me, I know that my heart will.
However, contrary to my concealed desires, there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. We don’t get “breaks” from being like Christ and the fact that we may sometimes want one, should show us how little we truly understand what it means to follow Him. Being a Christian isn’t a chore; the more that we are like Christ, the more that we are what God intends for us to be.
Which also means that we never have an excuse for not demonstrating Who He is to others. As my pastor once said “There are no Lazy Boys in Christianity.” Despite how I’m feeling, I don’t get a “pass” to sit on the sidelines for a day. Following Him means being all in, all the time. And while this concept may sound radical, it isn’t different from what we expect from our earthly relationships. I wouldn’t expect my husband to ask for a day off from being my spouse or a child to ask for a vacation from being a parent’s kid. God has imparted to us a wonderful gift – the privilege of being a part of the work that He is doing. Rather than looking for ways that we can “get out of it,” we should be looking for ways that we can do more.
I suppose the reason that I’m looking for that Lazy Boy chair is because I trust in my own power to be a “good Christian” and this power is never enough. Thankfully, God doesn’t expect it to be. He’s called me to be a full-time Christian, and He’s given me His strength to accomplish it (Phillipians 4:13.) He knows that on my own I will grow weary, so He’s promised to give me His wings.
It’s a hard thing to be full-time for Christ. And yet, I’m convinced, it will be harder when one day, we stand before Christ, and we recognize all the opportunities we let pass by.
Let them be few.
