What your definition of "is" is...

Not that I enjoy reliving embarrassing moments in American History, but I'm sure we all remember the famous line Bill Clinton gave us when trying to avoid a question. He said, "It depends on what your definition of 'is' is." For reasons that I may never truly understand, I thought of this today. And it reminded me of a situation in the Bible where another person was trying to get by on a technicality.

A guy went up to Jesus and asked the big question, the same question that has started altar calls and invitations for centuries since, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus responds by quoting the ten commandments. And the man answers, "Got it covered. Been doin' that stuff since I was a kid." Jesus then says, "Okay great!! One more thing and you're set. Go sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and then follow me." At this point, the man suddenly has better things to do than worry about eternal life. As he leaves, Jesus says something pretty hard to swallow. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven." (This can be found in Mark 10:17-31).

Now, when the man asked Jesus about what he had to do, Jesus didn't suddenly create the eleventh commandment. He was trying to show the rich young man that he had the wrong idea about how things work. The ten commandments, along with the rest of the law, weren't meant to be a checklist of "What I need to do to get into heaven." The law was meant to show us that we can't cut it on our own, that we need Christ in order to meet God's standard of perfection.

So what was the point of telling him to sell his stuff and give it up to the poor? Jesus was addressing the man's heart, and his heart was for his money. Technically, he kept the commandments, but he toed the line, maybe even crossed the line, when it came to his desire for wealth.

So, being a follower of Christ isn't about a list of do's and don't's. It's not a question what we can and can't do. Its an issue of the heart. We should ask ourselves, "Is the way I am living pointing me and others to Christ, or away from Him?" And we can't find an answer by checking on our church attendance, tithe contributions, abstaining from vices, or dedication to spiritual disciplines. Don't get me wrong; these things are important. But they aren't what defines how close we are to Christ.

I think it was Joshua Harris that said that purity is a direction to walk in, not a line to be toed. I would say its the same with our relationship to Christ. We're not good Christians because we meet certain criteria or bad Christians because we don't. But its more about whether or not we're willing to get rid of anything, even good things, to get closer to Christ. If listening to secular music doesn't affect you're spiritual walk, then don't throw away all your Nickelback CDs and spend lots of money on Third Day music. If your activeness in church events has you neglecting your time with God and your time with your family, then its time to cut back on how much you're volunteering. Don't ask "Am I doing enough?" because the answer will always be no. Instead, ask "am I heading in the right direction?" And if you are, then God will work out all the other stuff in time.

As always, feel free to comment or ask questions. I'm always here.

Keep Soaring,

B