David Wayne, a pastor fighting cancer, on how the struggle is helping clear clutter away from message of the gospel:
I think it’s time to say goodbye the Christian industrial complex, the evangelical hype and marketing machine that promises life change every Thursday and promises that you, yes, you, and me yes me, can change the world. Hogwash. None of us is required to change the world for Christ, Christ has changed the world permanently, none of us can do anything about it. Everyone wants to change the world, no one wants to do the dishes or take out the trash. I would trade every kid who takes a mission trip to change the world for one who would stay home and clean his room, treat his brother like a human being and help mom around the house without being asked twice. Changing the world is easy, the latter is harder and far more Christlike.
The same goes for adults – I don’t need to become a great leader, I need to prepare a regular ol’ word based sermon for Sunday, make some phone calls to some shut ins, listen to my elders instead of sharing my vision with them and generally be available to my congregation.
And I need to be thankful that prayer is not nearly as difficult a thing as the books make it out to be. Trueman’s prescription is right – Lord thank you that you have come in the flesh, have died, resurrected and forever changed the world and that the Kingdom has come. May it keep coming and keep me out of the way. I confess that I haven’t forgiven so and so, so I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but want it anyway and with your help I’d like to forgive so and so. Keep me out of trouble and I not only pray for daily bread, I thank you that daily you spread a cornucopia before me that generations in the past could only dreamed of. I wouldn’t blame you if you slay me if I utter one single cotton-pickin word of complaint about the government, the president, the kids next door, the barking dog two doors down, or if my wife burns the biscuits.
So all of this is to say that I am in the midst of a mid life change of heart and mostly I simply want to learn the art of thanksgiving. To do that let me give thanks to God. I’m in a season which is pretty good – blood numbers look good and I’m handling the side effects of chemo better than I have in months. But I have a killing disease and my greatest prayer is to be able to mean it from my heart that though he slay me, yet will I praise Him.
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