By David ReayWednesday 21 Sep 2016LifeWords DevotionalsFaithReading Time: 0 minutes
Transcript:
Read 2 Corinthians 5:17
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (NRSV)
C.S. Lewis once said that Christianity, if false, is of no importance. If true, it is of the utmost importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.
He has a point. If Jesus was truly God in human form, if he truly rose from the dead, if he truly claims authority over all people and all things, then everything has to be seen in this light. As Paul says here, because of Jesus all has become new—at least in principle. We battle the old order which still has a hold on us, but the new world has been inaugurated and our life direction and centre is forever changed.
So it is sad when many of us find that our faith sits somewhere on the margins of our life. It does not impact us very much. We are dabblers in the faith rather than being immersed in it. Christianity is something to be fitted in when necessary or feasible. It is part of who we are not the essence of who we are.
This is not an appeal for us to become super-spiritual. Living as people whose relationship with Jesus is central does not mean we become obsessed with religion, does not mean we are so involved in church that we have no time left over for those outside the church. It does not mean we neglect the mundane and not-so-mundane matters of everyday life.
Rather we are invited to live and work and speak and think and feel as those who are shaped and reshaped by Jesus. We do lots of things seemingly unrelated to faith, but in fact all we do arises out of faith and is shaped by faith. Our faith ceases to be moderately important.
Blessings
David Reay