How Then Shall We Live… Revisited
I touched on this subject here about 2 years ago, (here & here) and the Lord has recently brought me back to it.
Having more theological understanding then I did 2 years ago, and having had 2 years to grow in the grace of Christ- I still find my questions then, relevant today. My thesis statement then was this:
“I fear that in our legal right to enjoy the things of this world we are missing the fullness of what is available to us in Christ.”
Entertainment is fun, it is even good. Movies, Television, Music etc. do not equal sin. It is not possible to change the amount of love God has for us based on what we view. He does not love us any more or any less, but our love for him is affected.
It’s a very simple concept really. Because of the shed blood of Christ, the torn temple veil, and the indwelling spirit, we have an endless invitation to encounter and experience the living God. God’s love is always steadfast toward us, so our righteousness does not effect our salvation or His thoughts and affections toward us. However our hearts can grow distant from Him if we are continually immersed in things that distract us from Him. I’ve posted this quote before, but I love the way Spurgeon puts it:
Wholehearted love is the duty and bliss of the marriage state in every case, but especially so in this lofty mystic marriage. The church must forsake all others and cleave to Jesus only, or she will not please him nor enjoy the full manifestation of his love. What less can he ask, what less may she dare propose than to be wholly his? Jesus sees a beauty in his church, a beauty which he delights in most when it is not marred by worldliness. He has always been most near and precious to his saints when they have cheerfully taken up his cross and followed him without the camp. His Spirit is grieved when they mingle themselves among the people and learn their ways. No great and lasting revival of religion can be granted us till the professed lovers of Jesus prove their affection by coming out from an ungodly world, being separated, and touching not the unclean thing. For he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. -Charles Spurgoen
We are in a time in human history where Christianity is a joke. Where our culture affiliates Christians more with the Republican party than it does the man Christ Jesus. Our world is in a crisis of faith. Myself and the church may have the articulation of the gospel, but few have touched the depths that it promises. So many words, breaths and days have been spent arguing about how to live out the good news of Christ, while our hearts have been satisfied more by the entertainment in this world. We have sitting before us an invitation to to touch the very delight, freedom, and joy available in Christ.
Entertainment does not effect our eternal standing, yet it does keep us from our “pure and simple devotion to Jesus Christ.” (IICor 11:3) Jesus “loves righteousness and hates wickedness” (ps 45), we love righteousness and tolerate wickedness in the things we watch. What would the church look like if it truly embraced the grace provided for us in Christ? What would we look like if we truly delighted our selves in the Lord? What would the church look like if we were “excellent at what is good, and innocent of evil”?
We have an invitation, not a requirement, but an invitation to go deep in the things of God.
How then shall we live?
man i was really happy with this post. Surprised it got no love
This has been something I have been really searching and seeking and trying to understand and grow in the past year and i really appriciate the post because it is so true. Growing up I was never told that these thing would come between my seeking of God or even relationship with him. It amazes me because the more I have begun to seek after his heart the more I see how these things influence and take up and over my life and time. We have become walking media zombies staring at TV’s, computers, videogames or whatever. It is so humbling to me and almost sobering to think that most of the time I would rather watch one of my shows for an hour, football for 3 hours or even play videogames for God knows how long then spend time with the King of kings and on top of that can’t even spend 30 min in prayer or devotion when i wake up evryday without getting distracted. That’s how entertainment has transformed us, lying to us that it is more appealing and actually blingding us from the one that will truley caption our attention. How can I truly grow in the knowledge and love of God when I am full of so much useless worldly stuff, but at the same time, it is has been a so called “harmless” daily thing. My big struggle, how lame!
@ Josh i feel you bro… but there is good news!
Fighting to love Him is love. fighting to spend time with Him is time. The Lord loves the effort.
Don’t be too hard on yourself, because it’s an invitation and one that we slowly get better at taking as life goes on. As evidence by your comment.
You never used to realize how distracted you were from God, the more you grew in grace, the more you desire to spend time and your life on him. The desire alone is worship. If you stay the course, that desire will grow.
You are a good man Josh. I’m thankful that we have been given grace to run this race!