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Morton Church of Christ |
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Cosmetic
Christians ( 2Tim.4:16-18
An old TV show had three people all portraying one
individual. The task for the contestant was to question each and
make a judgment as to whom they thought was the real person
described. At the revealing of the authentic character they would
say: ‘would the real _____ _____ please stand up’. Often
times the look of the person was such a powerful influence that
the right one was a total surprise.
I wonder how such a scenario would play out in each of our
lives if everyone who knew us would describe us and then a panel
of contestants would pass their judgment as to whether they
thought we where the real, true Christian. God knows more about
you than any of your acquaintances do. Whose opinion maters the
most?
Paul was imprisoned and drug before those who had the
power to end his life or make it so miserable that a person would
wish for death. Paul saw this as an opportunity provided by his
Lord Jesus to preach the whole message of God. That whole message
would also include judgments to come against those who worshiped
idols and lived immoral, and vile lives. Paul says to Timothy
that he proclaimed the message in its entirety.
Was Paul a Super-Christian and the rest of us just little
wimpy, frail, whish-we-coulders? The only real difference between
Paul and any one of us is likely no more than the presumed value
of what was found in Jesus by Paul. What I mean by that statement
is that I believe Paul placed the value of knowing Jesus at a
higher level than most of us are willing too.
You know the old saying: “beauty is in the eye of the
beholder.” Each of us from our own vantage point see a little
bit different Jesus and that Jesus we each see is deemed a value.
We do the same kind of thing in all our dealings with the world
around us. The greater the value something is to us the more it
will hold influence over our lives and the choices we make.
The value, the worth of something, whether tangible or
imaginary, is the energizing force of our lives. We all have the
basic ones such as survival. We all want to live. We all want to
eat and feel secure. We all want some kind of fulfilling
relationships. The degree of difference between any two people on
how much they value any of these things can be as much as light
and dark.
For Paul the value of knowing Jesus and accomplishing what
he was called to do for Him was more valuable than the value of
life, food, shelter, clothes, friendships, etc. For far too many
people their Christianity is only valuable enough to warrant an
hour a week, maybe. The life they live beyond that hour is little
influenced by their commitment to Jesus. Why?
Many will say: ‘I’m a Christian.’ But does the value
of Jesus show in the totality of their lives or is their
Christianity only cosmetic? How about you? How valuable is Jesus
to you. ·
Mat13:31-32 – like
a mustard seed… ·
Mat.13:33 – like
yeast… ·
Mat.13:44 – like
treasure hidden… ·
Mat.13:45-46 –
merchant looking at… Each
of these stories shows that the value of the What
is Jesus worth to you?
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