Give Me All

The Christian way is different: harder and easier. Christ says, "Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked- the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours."

-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

An old co-worker came back to visit the office today. He is always the talkative, social, fun-loving guy. He was talking with a few of us near our desks about how he was on his way to visit his sister for her 21st birthday, and the partying they were going to do. Most of us just roll our eyes as he goes on about it because we know he drinks a lot and likes to party with any chance he gets. And then he said his sister asked him to bring his church clothes for Sunday.

An older lady, who sits near my desk was listening to the conversation and she made some comments about how church boys cannot be trusted. She wondered out loud how someone can regularly go to church and then get drunk on other nights? It didn't make sense to her, and she's not a Christian. That bothered me because this is her perception of a guy who says he's a Christian, when all his actions do not show it.

The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. As a Christian, I know everyone sins and falls short, but when your lifestyle (which you choose all for yourself) reflects chasing girls, drinking, &c...look at the perception the name "Christian" is getting. That these things are somehow acceptable....

If you say you are a Christian, you should want to make the lifestyle choices that reflect the beliefs, morals, and values of a Christian, otherwise you are mis-representing what we believe. And that actually detours people from wanting to learn more about the loving God.

What draws people to Christianity, what makes them curious to know more, is seeing Christians who stand up for what is right, who resist temptation, who show kindness when they are treated with disrespect, who hold their tongues, and who make it through tough times with their head on their shoulders and hope alive. They will wonder why and how we choose to live this way.

God doesn't just want parts of your life. He wants all of it, and if you aren't willing to let the Creator of the universe mold you and guide you, then don't walk around claiming you are a Christian. These are harsh words, I know. And none of us can fully live up to this. Yet, God calls us to be perfect, which means, we have a lot of work to do. If you aren't moving forward, closer to God, then you are speeding away....