Following Jesus
is not going to make you wealthy. Following Jesus does not guarantee that you
are going to be healthy. The message of Scripture and the gospel of Christ is
not that in following Him, everything goes right, but that He is enough no
matter what happens. That’s the message of the gospel, not that everything is
going to be okay.
It’s maddening
to me that the prosperity gospel is so unbelievably popular among people who
then have to completely disregard Scripture as well as Christian history.
Every apostle
in the Bible dies bad, I mean bad. They don’t just stumble in the street and
get run over by a car. They get beheaded, they get crucified upside down, they
get boiled in oil. They die poor and they’re slaughtered. Spurgeon, the prince
of preachers, struggles with depression his whole life and then dies.
Christianity has been built and has been carried through the generations on the
blood of men, not on the wealth.
The prosperity
gospel is an absurd idea that makes Christ not preeminent, but emphasizes only
what He can give you. This is not Christianity. This is something entirely
different, and it’s heresy that would have you burned alive 200 years ago.It is
a ridiculous notion.
Jesus is
enough. He’s enough. We pursue healing, maybe we get it, maybe we don’t. He’s
enough if we don’t. This is the Gospel, that Jesus is sufficient.
This is not
about what Jesus gets you; it’s just about Jesus, preeminent, on top of the
chain, nothing else to want, nothing else to pursue. He is enough. That’s the
message.
Pursue healing. Pursue it because He’s going to give it to some, not all. This is what Paul means when he says, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Do you know what he means by that? “One day, I get to die and I don’t have to struggle with this anymore.” This is why Romans 8 says, “We groan.”
This is why we
eagerly await the return of Christ, because that’s when Genesis 1 and 2 is back
in it’s fullness. Until then, we’re simply on the path. It’s why we look to the
east and say, “Come get us.” And until then, we groan and we have the promise
that He’s enough, He’s enough.
Listen, for you U2 fans, this is what Bono means when he says, “You carry the cross that bore my shame, but I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” He’s not saying that Jesus didn’t work, he’s saying, “We’re not there yet.” It has not been all redeemed yet. We’re not back there yet. But I’ve got hope and I’ve got faith ...
My faith and my
hope is that by walking in obedience, we will get through Genesis 3 and get
back to Genesis 1 and 2.
He’s given me
enough strength today to do what He’s asked.
So, there are
days where I just can’t wait to go to bed, because I know there are new mercies
tomorrow and I feel like I’m almost out.
There are some
days where I really get what David meant when he said, “You are better than
life. Life is kind of this tiring thing. You’re better than it.”
I get what John
meant when he said, “Come quickly.”
This is the
hope of those who profess Jesus. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
So, sickly,
broken and poor or healthy, rich and put together, we pursue Him as the all
sufficient preeminent in the universe, and we trust that He will give enough
grace and mercy for today and lead us back to the rhythm of Genesis 1.
If I had these
words, this is what I would say right now. But I don't, so I borrow them from
Matt Chandler, Pastor at the Village Church in Dallas Texas, when he spoke them
on October 15, 2006.