Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Don’t Take It For Granted

JOHN 17:1-3 – When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

THEME OF THE DAY. DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED. Before we proceed any further in today’s nugget, stop and ponder two things. First, what it means to be a Christian. Now don’t quickly entertain a few random thoughts and move on. To be a Christian is the most staggering thing ever to happen to a person. We are taken from being an enemy of God to being His beloved child. His wrath is taken off us and replaced by His unchanging Fatherly love. Our destiny is heaven; a place of no more suffering, pain, and sin. And we are given the privilege to know God. Really know Him. Really be in relationship with Him. Really experience the reality that He is alive and personal in our lives. It is radical to be a Christian. So radical that a person who is truly aware of what God has done in making us believers in Him and His Son will have a worldview and lifestyle so detached from the world that they live as already in heaven.

The second thing to ponder is what it cost God to make us Christians. Jesus Christ had to leave heaven, humble Himself in the form of man, live among His enemies and rebels, subject His holy Person to a sin-cursed world, be brutally abused to the point of a humiliating and shameful crucifixion, and He was the Father’s only Son. Would you give up a daughter or son for those who hate you? Would I? And what if it were your only son or daughter? It is the height of sinful indifference when we don’t live in a state of adoration, awe, and thanksgiving over what God did to make us His children. Now let’s move into the theme of today’s nugget – don’t take for granted what it means to be and what it costs to make us Christians.

A significant part of our ongoing battle with sin, the world, the devil, and flesh is to keep defeating the sin of spiritual indifference. Nothing grieves the heart of God more than for His children to take His mercy, grace, and love for granted. And it is easy to do. We may summarize what a heart is like when the sin of indifference has a stranglehold on it with one word. It is the word “neglect.”

When we are taking our relationship with God for granted, we neglect the privilege of having a Bible. This neglect is shown by our lack of spending consistent, quality time in our Bibles to know God. And the sin of indifference will find us spending more time in the pleasures of the world than the pleasures of being in the Word.

Another indicator of the sin of indifference holding our hearts will be neglect of prayer. We won’t find ourselves spending unhurried time alone and with other believers seeking the face of God to enjoy Him; to bask in His glory, to encounter the soul-satisfying experience of His Person. The sin of indifference reduces prayer to a formality over a meal or just words labored through as a joyless obligation. It is lifeless and a chore, not a delight.

A third indicator of taking God for granted and succumbing to the sin of indifference is our attitude and commitment to church on the Lord’s Day. Sundays are to be the most anticipated day of the week for the Christian. It is to be thought of with fondness and eagerness. It is the high day of the week for the follower of Jesus. However, when indifference rules the heart, church is viewed as not necessary for spiritual health or attended out of mindless habit instead of spiritual delight. And spiritual indifference will cause us to easily miss or be absent from church with no regret or remorse.

Being a Christian is special. Very special. Don’t take it for granted and be on guard against the sin of indifference which always exists when we take God and our relationship with Him for granted.

PRAYER: “Father, protect me from the sin of indifference and losing the ‘wow’ factor of being Your child.”

QUOTE: “Knowing God is the most important privilege given to us and must never be taken for granted”