How Much Is Too Much?

It's hard being real.  It's maybe harder being real as a follower of Jesus when He asks us to live so very differently from the world we find ourselves in.

 

I think that's why this person from my church family wrote this question to me:

 

"The only way a person can be saved is if they call upon the name of the Lord.  That can only happen when the gospel is preached.  But our good works are a way we work out our faith.  How are people to know we’re different from the world?  The Sihks in Vancouver feed the hungry.  The world and movie stars get involved in causes.  I am troubled by the focus of the western church on the temporal and very little focus on the eternal."

 

So, my typical style kicks in again, and I answer a question with a question:  How much is too much?  How much focus should we put on 'temporal things'?  How much on 'eternal things'?  How do we determine even what is temporal and what is eternal?

 

The battle between these two worlds is a telling one.  It seems to me that followers of Jesus are certainly called to be representatives of His kingdom here on earth, to listen to His commands and to obediently live out those commands.  One of the most obvious ones is to 'go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.'  This sounds like 'eternal' work to me!

 

But then I wrestle with that question again--how much am I involved in the 'eternal' or the 'temporal' worlds?

 

When I look at Jesus and how he lived, it seems that He was very much at peace with His choices and how He spent His time.  It does not seem to be a very 'eternal' thing to waste time being at a wedding feast, and how is it a heavenly act to put out the effort to turn water into wine?  What is the eternal significance of this act?

 

I think the single most important thing to remember when trying to figure out what is 'eternal' and what is 'temporal' has to do with our perspective on life.  This is what I mean:  If I am washing dishes and thinking that this menial task has no value and my heart is frustrated because I'm not involved in 'important' things--that I'm just wasting my time and selfishly fretting--I say that is living with a 'temporal' perspective.  BUT if I'm washing dishes and my attitude is one of praise to God for the gift of life, and gift of work, the gift of time and the gift of being able to worship Him, in the midst of the mundane, then that is an 'eternal' perspective. 

 

That's why Jesus could be involved in wedding feasts and it not be a 'waste of time' doing temporal things because His attitude and perspective was always to be living with His eyes toward His heavenly Father.

 

In Luke 10:8-9 Jesus tells his followers to go and heal the sick throughout the countryside and then tell them 'the kingdom of God is near you.'  Is the kingdom of God near them because of what act they performed, or because they were filled with God and bringing His presence near to them?

 

How much is too much?

 

Jesus encourages us to have our hearts be filled with His presence through the Holy Spirit.  AND, He gives us instructions of important messages to communicate to our world in order to bring hope and life.  But through it all He wants us to be free!

 

Be free to share the gospel of salvation, and be free to wash dishes.  If we do all things with our eyes fixed on Jesus I think we will be hitting the mark.

 

BT