Don't hold back...?

"You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, and pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises - very much of heaven on earth. Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you. "William Booth.


I have been pondering on this wee piece of wisdom for a few days now, and the same message keeps coming at me! Am i too comfortable in my life? Am I a cosy Christian, content to saunter along, happily singing and clapping my hands but not really thinking about why I'm doing it?

The simple answer is probably yes. I think sometimes, we mistakenly see Christianity as a club. An exclusive VIP place where only those with queue-jump tickets get in. We treat people differently for heaps of reasons. If we feel they maybe aren't living as 'cleanly' as they should be or they don't speak a certain way or act the way we would like them to. But does that not seem to promote an ideal of exclusivity? What happened to just being yourself, and YOUR best before God? Isaiah 43:1 says "Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I Have summoned you by name; you are mine." God loves us, despite all the rubbish things we do. But that doesn't mean we should go out of our way to be horrible.

Even as Christians we are real people, with flaws, problems, and weaknesses. We are not sinless, and can never be so. God hasn't called a bunch of Lemmings. He called us all by name, individually to do our best for him, to fulfil his will and purpose in a vast array of immensely different ways. I think that one of the most amazing things about being part of a Christian fellowship should and could be that we can support eachother in this struggle to live the way we need to for God.
The wee song i used to sing in Sunday School has been floating around for ages...i think it says "I am me, simply me, just exactly the way God planned me to be.." and I love it. God doesn't ask for perfect people. He asks for our best.

I think that sometimes I get too caught up in the nice-ness of being a Christian, and forget the actual reason that Jesus came. He came to seek and to serve the lost. But who am I serving? Myself? The Army? I really don't always know.
The words of the Switchfoot song 'Instead of a Show' seem to sum it up for me.

"Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living
Let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show.

Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turn your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in with your plans

...If your sins are blood red, quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to those who don't have any hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show."

William Booth wanted us to be passionate about our aims and our work. "You cannot hold back." So why do we?