“The littleness of Christians of this age results from the littleness of their consecration to Christ.” ~C. H. Spurgeon, Samson Conquered a sermon from November 21, 1858
What a sad thing to think there could be any such a thing as “a littleness of Christians.” Unfortunately that is exactly what has happened. Charles Spurgeon saw it in his time. Dr. Vernon McGee saw it in his. Amazingly enough Paul himself saw it during his time. That one really surprises me because it was at a time when the strong movement of Christianity should have been at its peak. Christ had just been in the area, his preaching and teaching should have been strong in their hearts and heads but yet it didn’t take them long to forget and wander away.
It’s important to get straight here what Spurgeon is talking about. Many non-believers have tried to pin that label on Christians for years. The label that they are below the world, narrow minded, insignificant, worthless, enslaved to an agenda that keeps them anything but free.
Perhaps I have it all wrong but what I see Spurgeon talking about here is our effectiveness as Christians, our ability to rise above situations, issues, and troubles. People full of zeal for Christ who carry a strong message with the eagerness to share it. Indeed ones who make a difference in their community instead of blending into the woodwork with everyone else.
I think if I was sitting in Spurgeon’s church that Sunday the hair on the back of my neck would have stood up as I felt offended. “How dare he say something like that here in church,” would have been my thinking. My next move would have been to look around to point at least ten fingers and a few good toes at the people in the church I thought were the guilty ones he was talking about. Unfortunately, the only picture I would have painted is one of a corpse in a state of tremendous rigor mortis. Instead of taking the message home to example my own self I probably would have went home to look at the yellow pages to find me a new church.
Tell me, who would be the one suffering from “littleness.” It would have been me. We need to be like an owl that can turn its head full circle stopping it when it comes back around to us in order to examine deeply our commitment, dedication, and consecration in Christ. Are we there yet? Evidently not.
We have no problem being deeply dedicated or consecrated into a cause, sport, hobby, habit, or frame of mind but we struggle with doing so with Christ. We think its good enough to believe in Him without any other effort on our part. After all, going to church faithfully every Sunday shows I’m dedicated to Christ doesn’t it? No, it’s what we carry into the week in between Sunday’s that will paint that picture.
Our state of littleness doesn’t come from the world it comes from within, from our own actions and choices. Next time a Charles Spurgeon comes along with a similar message don’t go diving for the yellow pages to find a new church, dive into the pages of God’s word to find a new you.
Our host today is Miriam on her blog, Miriam Pauline’s Monologue rush on over there and join in the fun.
© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
What a sad thing to think there could be any such a thing as “a littleness of Christians.” Unfortunately that is exactly what has happened. Charles Spurgeon saw it in his time. Dr. Vernon McGee saw it in his. Amazingly enough Paul himself saw it during his time. That one really surprises me because it was at a time when the strong movement of Christianity should have been at its peak. Christ had just been in the area, his preaching and teaching should have been strong in their hearts and heads but yet it didn’t take them long to forget and wander away.
It’s important to get straight here what Spurgeon is talking about. Many non-believers have tried to pin that label on Christians for years. The label that they are below the world, narrow minded, insignificant, worthless, enslaved to an agenda that keeps them anything but free.
Perhaps I have it all wrong but what I see Spurgeon talking about here is our effectiveness as Christians, our ability to rise above situations, issues, and troubles. People full of zeal for Christ who carry a strong message with the eagerness to share it. Indeed ones who make a difference in their community instead of blending into the woodwork with everyone else.
I think if I was sitting in Spurgeon’s church that Sunday the hair on the back of my neck would have stood up as I felt offended. “How dare he say something like that here in church,” would have been my thinking. My next move would have been to look around to point at least ten fingers and a few good toes at the people in the church I thought were the guilty ones he was talking about. Unfortunately, the only picture I would have painted is one of a corpse in a state of tremendous rigor mortis. Instead of taking the message home to example my own self I probably would have went home to look at the yellow pages to find me a new church.
Tell me, who would be the one suffering from “littleness.” It would have been me. We need to be like an owl that can turn its head full circle stopping it when it comes back around to us in order to examine deeply our commitment, dedication, and consecration in Christ. Are we there yet? Evidently not.
We have no problem being deeply dedicated or consecrated into a cause, sport, hobby, habit, or frame of mind but we struggle with doing so with Christ. We think its good enough to believe in Him without any other effort on our part. After all, going to church faithfully every Sunday shows I’m dedicated to Christ doesn’t it? No, it’s what we carry into the week in between Sunday’s that will paint that picture.
Our state of littleness doesn’t come from the world it comes from within, from our own actions and choices. Next time a Charles Spurgeon comes along with a similar message don’t go diving for the yellow pages to find a new church, dive into the pages of God’s word to find a new you.
Our host today is Miriam on her blog, Miriam Pauline’s Monologue rush on over there and join in the fun.
© 2010 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing
1 comment:
Well said Karen! I enjoyed your post.
My apologies for the glitches with the hosting end. The automatic post did not post and then I could not respond to blogger from my phone. Ah, technology. Thank you for your faithfulness to IOW. Have a blessed week!
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