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Aug 31, 2010 | Brian Peck

Good evening!

Over the summer, the question "If Christ were to address the church today, what would he say?" popped into my head.  I was reminded of the question this past Friday while reading Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" by Gray's Lake in Des Moines (after a very refreshing nap in the shade by the water's edge). 

So how do we answer the question?  What would Christ tell us?  Would He clarify John's Revelation and spell out the end times more clearly?  Would He end the debate on predestination once and for all?  Would He give us insight on why we suffered in every specific situation?

Christ would tell us plainly "Follow Me" - the same thing that He told us from the very beginning.

In the English Standard Version, the four gospels alone use the word "follow" in 87 distinct verses.  We don't have to speculate about what he would tell us - in fact, we even have the words of Christ to seven churches recorded decades after His resurrection.  Christ charges the church in Sardis to wake up and repent to follow Him, for their works are not alive but dead (Revelation 3:1-6).  Christ accuses the church in Laodicea of being lukewarm and admonishes them to open the door and follow Him (Revelation 3:14-22).  To the churches he commends, he does so because of their eager following.

Christ's instructions to us today, just as they were 2000 years ago, are simply to follow him.

 "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  (Matthew 16:24)

One of the chapters in Chan's book is entitled "Profile of the Lukewarm."  Over and over, Chan provides descriptions of a lukewarm Christian, each one with a verse to expose the heart.  Over and over, I felt myself convicted of my own heart and attitude.

I don't want to be lukewarm.  I don't want to be spit of Christ's mouth (Revelation 3:16).  I want to follow Christ.

I'll end with a quote from John Piper that particularly stung me.  I share it not to condemn, but with the hopes that your hearts, like mine, will be cut so that we together may repent and share in fellowship with one another (Acts 2:37). 

The crucial question for our generation - and for every generation - is this:  If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, and all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven if Christ was not there?

- Brian