Purpose

Either Or

We often like to ride the waves of ambiguity. Taking a stand leaves us open to criticism, dissension and fractured relationships. Remaining noncommittal lets us leave our options open. We see this even in the world of Facebook event invites. “Maybe” often constitutes the most popular response.

Yet Christ doesn’t leave us much room for ambiguity when it comes to our relationship to Him. He makes it clear that we are either for Him or against Him. A noncommittal response isn’t even an option. In the book of Revelation we see that the church of Laodecia was rebuked for being lukewarm – they weren’t on fire for God, yet they weren’t totally opposed to Him either. Christ’s says that this kind of church will be spit out. In other words, Christ is not ambivalent about our attempts at ambiguity. His concern is that we are totally committed to Him.

We see this in another passage as well. Matthew 7:21-24 is a passages that often causes people concern as Christ makes it clear that not everyone who claims to be a Christian is actually a follower of Him. He says that those who follow Him will do His will; those that don’t are workers of lawlessness.In 1 John 3:4, this same word,”lawlessness,” is equated with sin. So another way to think of this passage is to think that we are either laboring for Christ’s kingdom or we are laboring for the cause of sin. There are no other options. If we think that we can be noncommittal, Scripture indicates that a choice has already been made. If we are not investing our time, energy and resources in seeking and doing His will, we are investing them in things that are contrary to it. 

We are often reluctant to make choices. We are afraid of what we might be giving up when we have to commit to one thing over the other. However, Scripture makes it clear that if we are laboring for the purpose of God’s kingdom, then that work will not be in vain. Choosing to invest in His Kingdom’s purpose isn’t giving something up then; it’s a gain. 

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Purpose

Reward of Favor

A few years ago, a Pew Research Center poll revealed that revealed that the goal of the majority of young people was to be rich and famous. Trumping some more noteworthy objectives, such as helping others or becoming more spiritual, it’s easy to see why rich and famous may have risen to the top of the list. It no longer seems that talent or skill is a requirement for fame (or riches). As one researcher stated it, “We’re seeing the common person become famous for being themselves.”

In a day where people come become “famous” amongst their group of Facebook “friends” simply for posting a noteworthy status, the average young person probably sees no problem expanding this new-found celebrity into a career. However, God’s Word makes it clear that His children should be concerned about a different type of acclaim (Mt. 6:1-4). We should be focused on the good things that our Father has to say about us, not the praise of others.

In deepening our understanding of this, Christ says that if we do receive our praise on Earth – we have already received the reward for our good deeds. In other words we shouldn’t do the things of God because we think it we will attain favor here and in Heaven. Instead – we need to choose. Are we going to do Christ-like things for the sake of praise from our fellow man or are we going to do them because we are eagerly anticipating the reward of favor from our gracious King? Are we broadcasting our good deeds so that others may think well of us, or are we doing them in secret so that our Father does?

We must ask ourselves – if I’m going to receive favor only one source, would I rather it be from finite man or from an infinite God? And if our aim is to receive our reward from God, then we need to make sure that our hearts and our words reflect that – and that we do things so that He knows of them – not so that others do.

 

Practically, what do you think it means to do good things “in secret” for the sake of our Father’s reward?

 

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