when worlds collide

Homer Simpson once described his religion as ‘the one with all the good meaning rules that don’t work out in real life- Christianity!’

This isn’t about bashing him for saying ‘good meaning rules’. There are other aspects to Christianity than jumping on everyday who says there may be a rule to follow. No, what gets opened from this is the place of Christian faith in everyday life. How does the faith that you hold on to work itself out in the real world? Is it even for the real world? Perhaps it’s that cliché of being a Sunday faith. People get tired of clichés. Maybe this topic is cliché.

I sometimes lose the plot when I see health, wealth, and prosperity messages. I watched some God show on FreeSat and for the entire message he went on about one verse, saying if you believe this gospel you will not be affected by the recession, you will not suffer by having less possessions(!), you will be abundantly blessed if you embrace yourself and don’t allow negative thoughts to intrude (and this wasn’t even Joel Osteen folks!). Please go say that where the Church is persecuted and is now growing faster than the Western world or in the third world countries where their faith in a sustaining God just oozes from them. See what they make of that God you are preaching about. I’m not interested in a faith that puts the pursuit of the gift above the Giver, that doesn’t stand when the bombings begin again, that finds its validation in earthly success. The world is messed up. The world isn’t roses and puppies. The world tells you to seek fame, fortune, pleasure. But for the life of me, I can’t see that being the main point of the Bible. It says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Paul said that if we don’t have Christ then we may as well ‘eat and drink for tomorrow we die’. Christ overcame the world that feeds you all this rubbish. And this is where the worlds collide. On Sunday morning we heard that you cannot serve God and money. You can’t serve God and the world. But so many try and amass worldly gains through heavenly methods.

Historically, Calvinists would try and answer whether they were elect. It burned within them to find out if they were saved. They were also a frugal people and they worked hard. What happened was that as they worked hard, spent little, and invested their money back into their crops etc, their wealth grew. They took this as a sign of God’s favour on them. Some see this as the birth of Capitalism.

Are we doing the same? James says that a faith without works is dead, but I don’t see that material gain means you’re saved. I struggle to link this with Paul who didn’t boast in anything except Christ, with the disciples who gave away their possessions, with Jesus who said to expect to be treated badly, for the writer of Hebrews who indicates that if we are not treated in harsh ways then there may be nothing within us that Satan needs to suppress.

Some are blessed, and it is wrong to say that God does not bless His people. But don’t get caught looking at the blessing as the goal. A sign points beyond itself. When the sun shines, the rays come down but when you follow the ray up to the clouds you see the One who made it. Don’t miss the point thinking that if things aren’t rosy then you’ve done something wrong or if your wealthy your holy. If we hold to this view, what happens when something goes wrong? If we lose our money, or our job what happens to our view of God? He becomes sinister, taunting, vicious and all of a sudden we see the Christ who used to bless us and love us as being a proponent of those beliefs ‘that don’t work out in real life’. If you live by Christian materialism (oxymoron as it is) it will be your undoing because it can’t be further from the truth.

Some of the most admirable people I know suffer daily. Through illness, deformity and the like. But they do not feel victimised, they have not lost God or somehow haven’t gained His favour; no, what makes them radiant is that they hold to the promises found in Romans 8, ‘28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?’, Genesis 50:20a, ‘you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good’ (notice the expectation that evil will be done against us which God uses for good rather than being exempt from everything).

These have been precious verses and powerful verses. These are the truths that can change your whole perception on life. All things work together for the good of those who love God. All things. Not some. Not just that good financial decision you made, that job promotion you got. All things. That breakup, that test result, that persecution for what you believe. We are being conformed to the image of His Son. His Son suffered, His Son said not to store treasure on earth, and seek to further yourself as your main goal in life.

His Son said that He was sufficient in whatever we face and that His strength is made perfect in weakness.

In whatever you’re facing today, whether it be abundant wealth or whether it be sickness, seek Christ as your treasure. You may be the richest person alive, but is Christ your treasure? If you are poor and feeling oppressed, is Christ your treasure above what the world is currently throwing at you? Be active in it. The world throws things at believers every day. If you are to stand firm you need to actively reinforce yourself with verse like those above. You have your own I am sure. It needs to be reinforced, reinforced, reinforced. Pray in the Spirit, read the truths and examples in the Bible. Many there had a horrible time, but in the end were rewarded for their steadfast adherence to Christ. Seek God for who He is, not what we have made Him; start with God as the centre of the universe and work your way out. We are not the reason for its existence, He is. Please don’t build your vision of Him on material things or personal gains.

Then when worlds collide, He will still stand tall in our lives.

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