Platt mentions in chapter 1 that he went to Sudan on mission trip and while he was preparing to go he received a Christian news publication in the mail. The front cover had two different headlines. The first (and largest) headline read: "First Baptist Church Celebrates New $23 Million Dollar Building" and celebrated the church's new sanctuary. The second (and much smaller) headline read: "Baptist Relief Helps Sudanese Refugees". So this article gets him all excited and he starts reading it only to find out that..."Baptists have raised $5,000 to send to refugees in Western Sudan." Wow. Platt puts it this way:
"Five thousand dollars. that is not enough to get a plane into Sudan, much less get one drop of water to people who need it. Twenty-three million dollars for an elaborate sanctuary and five thousand dollars for hundreds of thousands of starving men, women, and children, most of whom are dying apart from faith in Christ..... The cost of believers not taking Jesus seriously is vast for those who don't know Christ and devastating for those who are starving and suffering around the world."
This brings two thoughts to mind: (1) What would a church here in America, or better yet, here in the South, look like if it truly put the needs of the lost, naked, broken, homeless, starving and hurting before the "needs" of the church? An old, not-so-state-of-the-art sanctuary? Old (and not comfortable) chairs or pews? Failing sound system? Would this church even have any members??? and (2) Would I even go to a church like that?
Our Southern culture certainly embraces Christianity and being part of a church, and many people go to church simply because it's culturally accepted. It makes you look good, probably makes you feel good, and it's more or less just what's expected of you. If we all truly wanted to experience Christ and wanted to follow him, wouldn't, or shouldn't, our churches look more like the one described above?? But we like the comfortable. We (and I am totally including myself here) like the comforts of cushioned pews and air conditioning. We like knowing that our pastors are going to make sure we feel good when we leave church. We like to give our 10% tithe and forget about God for the next two weeks. We like to invite our neighbor or co-worker to the Christmas program and feel like we have just evangelized and spread the Gospel. We like the safe, comfortable, not-very-demanding, would never really call you to do that, just wants to make sure you are willing Jesus that we have concocted in our minds and in our churches. I am very guilty of wanting the comfortable (and I'm not just talking about $ here. It's also more comfortable to not tell people about Christ than it is to do so. It's more comfortable to not stand up for what the Bible says is the truth than it is to do so. It's more comfortable to worship the rational Jesus that "wouldn't really tell us not to bury our father or say good-bye to our family, or didn't literally mean to sell all we have and give it to the poor" than it is to come face-to-face with the God of the universe and turn our lives and all that we have over to him for the Glory of his kingdom. It's much easier to worship the God that just wants you to come to church mostly every Sunday and Wednesday and maybe go on a week long mission trip or retreat every now and then than it is to worship the God of salvation that calls us to deny ourselves and take up our crosses, sell our possessions, give all we have to the poor.
But, and this is super cool what Platt brings up next, Jesus does is not trying to ruin our lives or take away all of our pleasures or dreams or desires. Platt says it like this:
"Did you catch what Jesus said when he told the rich man to abandon his possessions and give to the poor? Listen again, particularly to the second half of Jesus' invitation: 'Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.' If we are not careful, we can misconstrue these radical statements from Jesus in the Gospels and begin to think that he does not want the best for us. But he does. Jesus was not trying to strip this man of all his pleasure. Instead he was offering him the satisfaction of eternal treasure. Jesus was saying,"It will be better, not just for the poor, but for you too, when you abandon the stuff you are holding on to."
This is so true. It seems that I usually only focus on the first part of what Jesus is saying, to sell everything. But I have failed to realize that Jesus calls us to do this so that we may receive an even greater treasure than those we cling so desperately to. In John 10:10, Jesus says,"The thief comes does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." Man, Jesus came to set us free from death and sin and all that we struggle with in this life. He also gives us freedom from living for the unsatisfying joy of materialism and wealth and power. Because Christ died on the cross we no longer have to spend our lives working and toiling in vain for things and possessions and relationships that won't matter for an eternity. But because Christ died on the cross we can now boldly profess a life of faith knowing that our work will no longer be in vain!
Platt: "You know that in the end you are not really giving away anything at all. Instead you are gaining. Yes you are abandoning everything you have, but you are also gaining more than you could have in any other way. So with joy- with joy!- you sell it all, abandon it all. Why? Because you have found something worth losing everything else for."
I absolutely need to begin to see giving in this light, that I am not just 'losing' my time, money, possessions, etc., but that I am gaining more than I ever could by the works of my hands. Truly Jesus is worth losing everything for. But am I willing to give up everything for him??
What a first chapter. So convicting and humbling, but at the same time, so encouraging!
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