God Loves You and has A Wonderful Plan for Your Life.
Pastor: be mindful of the Jesus that you preach.
I grew up in a small Southern Baptist church in Roanoke, Virginia. My home life consisted of hiding from an abusive alcoholic father and trying to just understand “why?”. Why was life like this? Did other kid’s fathers behave this way? Doesn’t my dad love me?
I can remember sitting in the pew one Sunday morning and the preacher saying “just trust in Jesus and all your worries will be gone.” “Just give your life to Christ and you’ll have so much joy in your life.” “Because God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.”
So I did. I gave my life to Jesus… and nothing happened. I could not understand this. I thought God loved me. Where was this “joy” that the pastor promised me if I accepted Jesus into my heart? There was none. Wait… did I pray this “sinner’s prayer” right?
What I got instead was more of the misery that my father inflicted on me and my mother. Sunday after Sunday I would sit in a packed church hearing about a Jesus that could not save. This “Jesus” did not give me joy or peace. This “God” could not even protect me when I needed him the most.
God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life:
“But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” -The Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians 11:21-29
Let’s recap God’s wonderful plan for the Apostle Paul’s life:
whipped with 39 lashes (5 different times)
beaten with rods (3 different times)
pummeled with stones (1 time)
shipwrecked (3 times)
adrift at sea (one night, one day)
journeys (frequent)
danger from rivers
danger from robbers
danger from his own people
danger from Gentiles
danger in the city
danger in the wilderness
danger at sea
danger from false brothers
toil and hardship
sleepless nights (many)
hungry and thirsty (often)
cold and exposed
the pressure of anxiety for all the churches (daily)1
Oh, and he was most likely beheaded by emperor Nero for his faith in Jesus Christ.
Yep. Wonderful. Question to ponder: who defines “wonderful”? You or Jesus Christ?
This is but one example of a believer suffering for Jesus Christ.
The Jesus I had preached to me all those years ago was the false Christ of what would become the “seeker sensitive” movement. The Jesus of puppy dogs, kittens, and rainbows. That Jesus is very prominent in many forms in today’s church. I could write an hour read on that Jesus.
So pastors, please be mindful of the Jesus you preach. Do you preach the Jesus of the gospels or the Jesus of Joel Osteen? Or something in between. I will leave you with Paul’s charge to Timothy:
“Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” - 2nd Timothy 4:2
This reminds me of something that I've seen pop up in liberal churches. Aside from false teaching, many of them can't reconcile a loving God and their experience of an abusive father. So much it's to the point they won't call God Father. These are the products of an "easy-believism" theology. The prosperity gospel says, "It's easy! Just believe and everything will be in your favor." The social gospel says, "It's easy! Just do good and everything will be in your favor."