The presents are open.
The "oohs" and "ahhs" have subsided. Toys are sitting abandoned and kids
are playing with boxes. Dad decides to clear the room by taking the
wrapping paper out back to burn. Then, just as the flames begin to catch
in earnest, he sees that $20 bill from grandma lying in the wrapping
paper. Heroically, Dad charges in and saves the twenty.
Now that I have that image in your mind, take a look at this verse:
"And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Jude 22,23
Pulling them out of the fire! The hard truth is that many of those we are called to reach with the Gospel are living within the grasp of hell's flames. All around us are people simmering with bitter memories, igniting in dysfunction, and engulfed in addictions. I suspect that more children than any of us realize are growing up in truly awful situations.
As Christians we become comfortable in our own universe. We go to church with nice people. We may work with nice people. When we go to the grocery store we habitually checkout in the aisle where the nice Christian lady runs the register, and we are quick to invite those nice middle class neighbors to church.
I get it. Part of being "saved from my sins" means that I should, by virtue of a new nature, recoil from sin. I'm not a drug addict, and have no desire to be around addicts. I am not trapped by some perverse immorality and really do not want to deal with the aftermath of someone else's perversion. It isn't that we hate sinners. We love them, really... but we are busy, and dealing with all that baggage is going to take a lot of time and effort. I get the reasoning. The problem is that Jesus didn't operate that way.
To be like Jesus, we have to go where we do not want to go, in order to save those who need to be saved.
The fear of falling (especially where fire is concerned) is both natural and good.The miracle is that in this fire we can reach into the fire and pull someone out without falling in ourselves. Look at the next verse. Jesus is "able to keep you from falling" and to "present you faultless". In fact, he even does it with "exceeding joy". How about that!
So the question isn't whether or not we should reach in those flames to rescue a soul. We know we should. There isn't even a question about the danger of the fire. Sin is dangerous. Period. The question is, do we trust Jesus to "have our back"? Do we trust him to "keep us from falling" and "present us faultless"?
If you get close enough to the fire to rescue a soul, you are going to get smoke in your eyes, and this smoke will make you cry. I can promise you that. The challenge is this: will you get out of your comfort zone? Will you rescue someone who needs rescuing? Will you be like Jesus?
Now that I have that image in your mind, take a look at this verse:
"And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling [them] out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." Jude 22,23
Pulling them out of the fire! The hard truth is that many of those we are called to reach with the Gospel are living within the grasp of hell's flames. All around us are people simmering with bitter memories, igniting in dysfunction, and engulfed in addictions. I suspect that more children than any of us realize are growing up in truly awful situations.
As Christians we become comfortable in our own universe. We go to church with nice people. We may work with nice people. When we go to the grocery store we habitually checkout in the aisle where the nice Christian lady runs the register, and we are quick to invite those nice middle class neighbors to church.
I get it. Part of being "saved from my sins" means that I should, by virtue of a new nature, recoil from sin. I'm not a drug addict, and have no desire to be around addicts. I am not trapped by some perverse immorality and really do not want to deal with the aftermath of someone else's perversion. It isn't that we hate sinners. We love them, really... but we are busy, and dealing with all that baggage is going to take a lot of time and effort. I get the reasoning. The problem is that Jesus didn't operate that way.
To be like Jesus, we have to go where we do not want to go, in order to save those who need to be saved.
The fear of falling (especially where fire is concerned) is both natural and good.The miracle is that in this fire we can reach into the fire and pull someone out without falling in ourselves. Look at the next verse. Jesus is "able to keep you from falling" and to "present you faultless". In fact, he even does it with "exceeding joy". How about that!
So the question isn't whether or not we should reach in those flames to rescue a soul. We know we should. There isn't even a question about the danger of the fire. Sin is dangerous. Period. The question is, do we trust Jesus to "have our back"? Do we trust him to "keep us from falling" and "present us faultless"?
If you get close enough to the fire to rescue a soul, you are going to get smoke in your eyes, and this smoke will make you cry. I can promise you that. The challenge is this: will you get out of your comfort zone? Will you rescue someone who needs rescuing? Will you be like Jesus?
