This morning I sat in a meeting with a bunch of pastors who told highlights of what God has been doing this past year in their lives and churches. I was sad and sickened. Out of the several dozen who spoke, only two moved me to cheer and exalt the Name of Jesus. Most caused bile to rise in my throat.
Why the detest? Why the frustration? Because we are content. We are content to live mediocre lives. We are content to wallow in sin. We are content to focus on the numbers and growth of a church. We are content to turn the light from Jesus to our own lives and “accomplishments.” We are content in contentment. And I for one am sick of it! Let me share a brief experience this morning.
One pastor got up and found himself unable to speak because of all Jesus is doing in their midst. As he started talking about how he has overwhelmingly fallen in love with the Word, he choked up and began crying for several minutes. He tried to read a portion of Psalm 119 (I rejoice in Your Word as much as one rejoices in riches – verse 14) but took several minutes because of the emotions. I was gripped by every word. I was on the edge of my seat with excitement for a pastor who is in love with the Word, who only desires to proclaim the Word and see the Word changes lives. Though the pastor was only to speak for two minutes, at the five minute point, a pastor sitting behind me grumbled to his neighbor, “He sure is taking a lot of time.”
The majority of those who spoke were like the man behind me who had somehow taken their eyes off Jesus and His majesty and grandeur. I do not mean to speak bad about the pastors – many of them are kind and wonderful individuals – but I do mean to use them as an example. We are content to live where we are. We have become satisfied with the nominal and mediocre. Even when we have heard or seen of a deeper richness of Jesus, we have calmly sat where we are … content. Why do we not want more of Him? Why would we not run into the fullness of who He is? He is offering ALL that He is to us and we calmly sit by smug and refusing. If someone brought you into a room full of $100 bills and offered to give you as much as you could carry out, you would find ways to add pockets on your pants. But when Jesus offers Himself – a limitless supply – we stop and become content with the first little droplet.
I refuse to be content! I want the endless depths of Jesus Christ! I want to aggressively pursue Him every moment of every day! I want to live the words of Andrew Murray:
You will ask me, are you satisfied? Have you got all you want? God forbid. With the deepest feeling of my soul can I say that I am satisfied with Jesus now; but there is also the consciousness of how much fuller the revelation can be of the exceeding abundance of His grace. Let us never hesitate to say, “This is only the beginning.”
Andrew Murray