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This was a question I was asked by one of my boys as we were driving home one night after a Line 150 practice. We were talking about the gospel and what it means to know who Jesus is and have a relationship with Him. To the remaining boys on the van, I explained that being a Christian is not just about going to church but is about Jesus living a sinless life, dying on the cross for our sins, defeating sin and death in his resurrection, and now offering us eternal life when we place faith in Him.
It was after I said this that one voice piped up saying, “but what about poor people? We don’t have houses…” “What?!?” I thought in my head. At this moment, there were two conversations going on…one, an inward monologue and the other an outward dialogue. On the outside I told him that Jesus doesn’t need a house, but comes to live in your heart when you ask him. Therefore, he could be a Christ follower as well, since Jesus didn’t need a physical house to live in, but only his heart.
On the inside, my mind began to race as I thought through how a boy of 12 years could have the perception that Jesus was only for “rich people.” Have we really, as the Church, sent out the message so clear that even a 12 year old gets it to say, “Come as you are, the gospel is for you, so long as you look like me, talk like me, act like me, etc, etc, etc…”??? And I by no means want to point the finger at the Church and say look at what’s wrong with this, as my postmodern mind wants to, but it was such an insightful comment I had to share it with you.
It’s hard not to feel like our efforts are only a drop in the bucket sometimes but I’m encouraged by something I learned during my time at Desire Street in New Orleans 4 years ago. In 2 Samuel 5, David inquires of the Lord about how to defeat the Philistine army. The Lord replies in v. 23, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” In the same way, I know the kingdom is moving forward, even in spite of us…
