SECTION 3: WHERE ARE THE CHRISTIANS?—a Categorization
Chapter
11: They’re Vacillating—Living Under
Their Potential as Hesitant Christians
Many Christians, those who
are not departing or hiding, are instead dithering and vacillating with great
faith waiting to be cut loose! There is a large group of Christians out there
that have enormous potential who are sitting on the sidelines indecisive about
entering the game. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti passionately stated, “Hell
begins on that day when God grants us a clear vision of all that we might have
achieved, of all the gifts we wasted, of all that we might have done that we
did not do.”
The question for all
Christians is “what is your personal potential in Christ?” Paul wrote “I can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). Jesus taught
“with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). The eroding state of current
spiritual affairs in the United States could be entirely turned around if every
Christian rose up and did just that—live their full potential in the Savior.
Before introducing the next
Christian type it is important to realize what our potential is as disciples of
Christ. The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 states that each of us has
been given talents, every man according
to his several ability (Matt. 25:15). The servants in the parable who
doubled their talents understood the principle of “…For unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shall be much required…” (Luke 12:48). The Bible makes it clear
that although Christians are given different abilities and responsibilities,
each has the opportunity for the same spiritual blessings of eternal life through
faith and sacrifice. The potential of each Christian is tremendous, but all too
often that potential is unrealized in a spectacular fashion despite having
faith sufficient to do so.
This brings us to the third
type of Christian—the Hesitant Christian.
This is a Christian who routinely operates under his or her potential. The
Hesitant Christian has great faith but is not living up to the potential of
that faith.
Paul referred to the
potential of the Hesitant Christian when he wrote “Now unto him that is able to
do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us… (Eph. 3:20-21,
emphasis added). The Hesitant Christian may at times be “weary in well doing”
(2 Thess. 3:13) and therefore misses service opportunities presented by the
Lord despite having the “several ability.”
In answering the question
of “where are the Christians?, a portion of them are hesitating, and as the old
adage goes: “he who hesitates is
lost”—defined as “a person who spends too much time deliberating about what to
do loses the chance to act altogether.” When it comes to faith we must use it
or lose it.
We have now been introduced
to the first three types of Christians, each of which is lagging behind and not
making the difference they are capable of making. Next we will look at those
Christians who are stepping up to their potential and carrying much of the load
in Christian America.
Go to www.findyourchristianity.com to
watch the book trailer, find out what type of Christian you are, and to order
the book.
No comments:
Post a Comment
This is a happy place for book lovers. Please keep all comments kind and clean. All unhappy comments will be removed. Thank you!