The story of the chicken and pig has been needling me the last few days. In case you
haven’t heard it, at least one version goes something like this:
A chicken and a pig were walking down a road together. When they passed a church, they noticed the church was having a potluck charity breakfast.
“I’ve got a great idea,” said the chicken. “Let’s go help them out with their charity breakfast!”
“OK,” the pig replied. “What do you have in mind?”
“We could give them some bacon and eggs,” the chicken said excitedly!
“What?” cried the pig. “Are you crazy? For you, that’s just a donation, but for me it’s a total commitment!”
I believe the Lord has been "needling" me with that story to remind He requires much more of us than a simple donation of our time and involvement.
HE REQUIRES OUR TOTAL COMMITMENT
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1 NKJV).
Beloved friends, what should be our proper response to God’s marvelous mercies? I encourage you to surrender yourselves to God to be his sacred, living sacrifices. And live in holiness, experiencing all that delights his heart. For this becomes your genuine expression of worship (Romans 12:1 TPT).
Being a disciple of Christ is not for sissies! When we look at the behavior of His disciples in the book of Acts and the epistles, we see people who are extreme in their beliefs, zealous in their faith, and impassioned in their actions. As we compare these disciples to the disciples of the modern Western Church (dare I say, us), what comes to my mind is there IS no comparison. We are looking at two very different kinds of disciples: the first group is characterized by total commitment; the second by involvement and donation when it is convenient.
The first group knew they lived in a hostile world. They were hated and opposed by both their government and their religious leaders. They refused to compromise or be politically, religiously, or culturally correct by the world's definition of correct. We in the Western Church, and especially we in the United States, became spoiled and complacent because for so long we were the dominant voice in our nation. It was easy to stand up for Christ and Judeo-Christian values, because the majority of Americans did so.
Things started changing dramatically in the United States when Madalyn Murray, an atheist, (later to marry and become Madalyn Murray O'Hair), filed suit in 1959 on behalf of her son who was required to attend Bible readings in his school and was harassed by school employees when he refused to participate. The case consolidated with another and was decided in June, 1962, when the Supreme Court ruled that state-sponsored prayers in schools are unconstitutional. Although theoretically students could still pray in school, many districts began forbidding any kind of prayer in schools, "official" ones or prayers led by students. Thus began the banishing of God from our schools. Although the Church and Christians initially protested this development, over time they (we) accepted it, and by doing so, we made it easy for satan to continue to assault Christians, Christian beliefs, and Christian traditions. Atheist and humanist voices became louder as, simultaneously, the voice of Christians grew softer. Instead of fighting, the Church surrendered, withdrew into its four walls, and abandoned our culture to the atheists and humanists.
All of this would be exceedingly depressing EXCEPT for one thing: GOD has stepped in to awaken, revitalize, and embolden His Church! Followers of Jesus are starting to live like, talk like, and do like Jesus. The Church is abandoning political correctness in favor of the truth of God. The Church is arising to reclaim this nation for God in the name of Jesus. Many Christians are returning to extreme beliefs such as the God JEHOVAH, is the only God and Jesus is the only way to Him. Christians are becoming zealous in developing, protecting, and declaring their faith in Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King. Christians are once again becoming passionate about Jesus and living out their faith boldly, lovingly, uncompromising and unapologetic. Christians are returning to the true faith which requires self-sacrifice and total commitment rather than an involvement which costs us nothing.
THIS IS A GREAT DAY TO BE A CHRISTIAN
God is restoring His Church! He is cleansing the dirty spots, ironing out the wrinkles, and removing the blemishes! He is coming back for a glorious, holy Church (see Ephesians 5:26, 27); He is coming back for His Bride, and she is making herself ready (see Rev. 19:7). Those who are part of the true Church are rejoicing to see the shaking and the separating taking place. They are sick of the unrighteousness and the compromise and the lawlessness. They are not afraid, they are excited, because they see God's hand moving! Despite satan's and the media's tireless efforts to browbeat us and scare us into submission, true Christians, those who offer themselves as living sacrifices to the Most High GOD, are becoming bolder, more confident, and more determined than ever to establish God's Kingdom in our lives and in our nation, whatever nation that may be.
We are so blessed to be living in this kairos moment! We "...have come to the kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4;14).
Glory to GOD!
Love, Hugs, and Blessings,
Syandra