Will your work stand the test of fire?

“Not many of you should presume to be teachers ... because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).

Being a teacher, writer and preacher, I find this warning rather sobering. In fact, sitting down to write an article like this requires – certainly in my case – a high level of courage.

But do not think you have been let off the hook because you are not a Bible teacher. God judges EVERY person’s work impartially (1 Peter 1:17), and He will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). Whether you are a cook, engineer, housewife, pensioner or accountant, your work will be judged. Yes, my work will be judged more strictly, but nevertheless, your work will be judged too!

The Apostle John described what mankind’s court appearance will be like in Revelation 21:11-15. John’s vision was, to put it mildly, momentous. He saw the dead - every person that had ever lived and died, both kings and commoners - standing before the great white throne, were they were judged on the basis of two things: 1) what they had done, according to the records of each person’s life, and 2) whether their name appeared in the book of life.

If you are in Christ you can be sure of the outcome of the second judgement. Your name will appear in the book of life, and you will not suffer eternal separation from God. An eternity in the presence of God will be your infinite delight. But how will you fare in the first judgement? Paul highlights your possible predicament in the following way:

“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Cor. 3:11-15)”

It is essential, therefore, that you approach your work on earth with reverential fear. There is much at stake – not your salvation, but certainly your reward. For this reason, I am getting into the habit of using a prayer penned by King David in Psalm 19. David had written this psalm to glorify God and His law, so as he finished he wrote:

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” (v14).

For David, the work of the moment was a psalm. For me it is this article. What is it for you? Whatever you are doing begin with prayer, asking God to help you please Him. God is your Rock. You can depend on Him to help you do God-glorifying work. Further, God is your Redeemer. He is in the business of delivering people like you and I from our weaknesses and the limitations of the world so that we can build with gold, silver and costly stones.

Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer, may the work I have done and the work I am about to do be pleasing in your sight. Amen.

Cheers for now - Ian

The man who leapt in front of a car

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran clergyman and a lecturer at the University of Berlin when Hitler came to power in 1933. Though most Germans were dazzled by the pyrotechnic blaze of Hitler’s leadership, Bonhoeffer remained clear sighted, and what he saw frightened him. “When a madman is tearing through the streets in a car,” he said, “I can as a pastor who happens to be on the scene, do more than merely console or bury those who have been run over. I must jump in front of the car and stop it.” So Bonheoffer leapt in front of the car. As a result, he was arrested on April 5, 1943, and two years later, he was hung in the concentration camp at Flossenburg.

How many of us are prepared to choose suffering for the sake of a worthy cause? Bonhoeffer wrote in ‘Letters and Papers from Prison’: “It is infinitely easier to suffer in obedience to a human command than to accept suffering as free responsible men”. That is to say, it is easier to accept suffering when it is forced upon me than to choose it of my own free will.

Now here’s the rub: most people in the world are too poor to avoid hardship, but this is not true in my case. My social and financial standing make it possible for me to freely choose comfort over hardship.  Consequently, I find it hard to freely deny myself and my family for the sake of the gospel. This might be one of the reasons why Jesus said, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 19:24)."

It would be easier if God FORCED me to suffer for the sake of His cause. It would be easier, perhaps, if He sent me an email with precise instructions.

Be that as it may, I would like to give God permission to lead me along the path of hardship, even suffering, for the sake of the good news about Jesus. After all, did not Jesus set aside the privileges of heaven and for my sake became obedient to death on a cross? The gospel message offers a treasure beyond worth. God uses it to turn rebels into children, to bring the dead to life and to turn darkness into light. There is much at stake, so may God give me the grace to follow Jesus’ example for the sake of those that need to hear the good news.

In the words of Bonhoeffer:

“It is infinitely easier to suffer in obedience to a human command than to accept suffering as free responsible men. It is infinitely easier to suffer with others than to suffer alone. It is infinitely easier to suffer as public heroes than to suffer apart in ignominy. It is infinitely easier to suffer physical death than to endure physical suffering. Christ suffered as a free man alone, apart and in ignominy, in body and in spirit, and since that day many Christians have suffered with him”... but God did not force them to, it was the result of free obedience to Him. I guess it all hinges on what we value.

Cheers for now - Ian

Who is in control?

Control a person’s livelihood and in all likelihood you control the person. Dictators and tyrants have understood this simple principle since time immemorial. A fact which is hardly surprising, as human dictators carry the DNA of the greatest tyrant of all, the one who seeks to dominate and control every human on earth – including you (and if you are a follower of Jesus, especially you).

Satan will tempt you to sacrifice obedience to Jesus for the sake of financial security and comfort. He would much rather hear your worried mantras of “what we shall eat” or “what shall we wear” than your prayers of “let your kingdom come” or “let your will be done”. Satan delights to see you obsessed by your needs rather than seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness first (Mat 6:25-34).

Of course, I am not saying that Satan is unsubtle. He conceals himself behind money, security and comfort. It seems more palatable, more acceptable somehow, to be chasing these things, especially when we have families to provide for. But they can become lieutenants in the devil’s command structure, demanding your obedience in exchange for your livelihood. Do not forget who you are worshipping when you serve money and all it can get you: health, security, comfort and significance.

When it comes down to it, who are you going to trust? Is God good? Does he love your family more than you do? And is His cause worth fighting for?

The work of serving the purposes of God IN OUR GENERATION is at hand. Are you up for the task? In his book “Don’t waste your life”, John Piper quotes the words of James Bradley to describe the sacrifices of an entire generation in World War 2. “People grew ‘victory gardens’ and drove at the gas-saving ‘victory speed’ of thirty-five miles an hour. ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without?’ became a popular slogan”.

Will we do the same in our generation for the sake of a far greater cause? Or will you bow to the enemy’s lie that he controls your livelihood?

Cheers for now - Ian

Depending on Jesus or money?

I am sitting here feeling very unsettled by what I have just read (Philippians 4:10-13). I suppose this is not the first time. But nothing ever quite prepares one for an incision that cuts to the point where joint and marrow meet.

Paul is thanking the Philippians for a gift of money that they sent him. But lest they draw the wrong conclusions, Paul qualifies his appreciation with the startling assertion that he could have coped without the money. What a surprise! After all, Paul was in prison, and it is likely that he would have benefitted from supplementary food delivered by someone on the outside. In fact most commentators assume that the Philippians had sent Epaphroditus for this very reason. It is unlikely that Roman prisoners were fed by the State.

So Paul would probably have subsisted on very meagre rations if it had not been for the Philippians’ gift. Surely then, Paul would have needed the gift. It appears not! For Paul made it abundantly clear that his contentment and ability to cope did not depend on the alleviation of physical discomfort. He wrote: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (v12). The secret was not in money it was in Christ. Christ strengthened Paul so that he could endure suffering (v13).

I have a question. Would you get upset with God if you did not have enough money to avoid hunger? Hunger is not for Christians...is it? Yet Paul had to learn the secret of being content though hungry.

I battle to be content without decent internet access let alone an empty stomach! And to be honest, I depend on the comfort that money affords me. Often, it is money that enables me to cope with life. I do not think I am alone. As rich Christians, we are in danger of assuming that wealth is our divine right and that we have earned it or deserve it. We begin to believe that we cannot do without the comforts - even necessities - that money can buy.

Paul was prepared to embrace depravation for the extension of the gospel. He knew who his real Master was. But do we?

Cheers for now - Ian