Jesus - why bother...

Last weekend, a big group of us worked on my friend's Sarah's house. Sarah has a loving husband, two kids and  - cancer. It would be cliche to say that she never thought it would happen to her, but there is really no other way to say it. We worked tirelessly in her house and yard to get it ready to be sold. They had to move to Baltimore to be close to her family and undergo treatment. This is the stuff that shakes the ground - the earthquake of an unexpected disease and the idea of mortality. It's like everything takes a shift and is seen through different eyes, as the battle for survival takes the forefront and everything else is tertiary.
Does it really matter that they don't know Jesus.
The pat Christian answer would be "Of course it does, because they have no hope of heaven!" While this may be a true statement, is Jesus really just assurance that things will be okay just in case something happens and you get sick or are involved in some sort of accident? This sounds shallow and made-up to me. Simply a way to get comfort in hard and confusing times. If this is the only reason for following Christ, why bother? Christianity is hard, so if all we are waiting for is the "sweet by and by" then I want out!
1 Peter: 2:2-7
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk that by it you may grow up into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone, rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: "Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." So the honor is for you who believe...

On Sunday, Fred asked us the question,
"Do we understand the Gospel and what it means for our spiritual growth?"

How basic, but how profound this question actually is. Without a proper understanding of the Gospel, there is really no reason for us to venture forward in this thing called Christianity - after all, it all rides on the idea of the Gospel.

Lets look back at the verse - "like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation..." This verse specifically implies that there is more than just an "after death" case for Christ. We are being told to long for spiritual milk - this is a NOW statement. Then it tells us what this "spiritual milk" will produce (again for the present). We are being "built up" so that we can offer "acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ". Here is the work of the Gospel; that through Christ, we are acceptable to God, a god who will in turn build us up! These are all present-tense statements. This is not just a religion by which we can get some sort of assurance for after we die, this is a purpose for life - a cyclical purpose. Verse 1 says "So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander." Put away these things (things in our human nature) - long for spiritual milk (a thing from God), so that we can grow, and in growing, bring Glory to the one who enabled us to grow through Jesus Christ. We believe in a God who wants us to be at our best, because when we are at our best, he is most glorified!!
So here's the rub.
Fred asked us:
Are you positioning yourself to grow?
Then, in typical teacher style, he gave us the how-to answers in the form of questions;
Are you creating space for God's word?
Are you creating space for community?
If not, why not?

As the year gets underway, and our time gets taken by our classes and busy schedules, let's make it a point to create space to grow this year. It will only happen if we are intentional about it... remember, we may have to sacrifice in some areas to make room for growth, but we have everything to gain from an all powerful God if we do.