The eCrozier

As a teenager I went to one of the Wednesday night prayer meetings at church. During the sermon that evening the preacher slowly built the intensity and ended with an impassioned “altar call” (there actually was no altar, per se, but you get the picture). He said something like: “If you don’t give your life to Jesus tonight, you could walk out of here later, get hit by a car, and you’d spend eternity in Hell.” I decided three things right then and there: (1) I truly would give my life to Jesus; (2) I would not be spiritually extorted to come forward no matter how many verses of “Just As I Am” were played; and, (3) I would be especially careful crossing the street that night.

I have more than a few regrets in my life, but I’ve never regretted those three decisions. Driving through North Carolina this last weekend I saw a huge billboard in Avery County. On the billboard was a giant flame and next to it was the question: “Do you know where you will spend eternity?” When I got home I checked out our household smoke and fire detectors. They’re working just fine, thank you.

There are, as the old saying goes, “no atheists in foxholes.” If we’re scared enough, we’ll buy into just about anything to relieve our fears (politicians count on that and so do many preachers and it’s hard these days to tell much difference between the two). Shane Claiborne, who more than most people I’ve met follows Jesus most closely, once wrote: “I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.”

If the only reason I offer for following Jesus as Lord is to avoid the fires of Hell or to gain the rewards of Heaven, then I of all people am most to be pitied. Playing Monopoly with my children a few weeks ago reminded me that following Jesus as Lord is not the spiritual equivalent of the “Get Out Of Jail Free” card in that game. I follow Jesus, the Son of God, because he is quite literally The Truth. I would have faith in him and follow him even if it meant I did not have Heaven as a reward when I die. Hear me here: I would follow Jesus as Lord even if there were no promise to me of Heaven. I follow him simply because he is God’s only-begottenTruth, embodied and revealed. Anyway, eternal salvation is God’s property, not mine. It would be just plain wrong on my part to claim otherwise.

The reason, I believe, more and more folk are giving up on church is, in large part, due to the message the Church has been sending out. We err by making Christianity into an eternal life insurance policy hoping people will be scared enough to buy it. Or, we spend so much of our energies arguing with one another about who among us is more faithful, leaving little time to truly follow Jesus. Who would want to be a part of a church whose slogan is de facto: “Join us and together we will argue with others about who is more likely to go to Hell.” But some might well want to join a people on a mission to embody and live out the ministry of the forgiving, merciful, and grace-filled Jesus. Sign me up for that duty.

+Scott