Hanging in There
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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Straight to the Cross
COLUMN: Field Notes
Hanging in There
by Michael E. Brooks
I am amazed that you are so quickly
deserting Him who called you by the grace
of Christ, for a different gospel.
Galatians 1:6
Have you ever observed children at a gift-giving
occasion? They are so excited with every new toy
they unwrap, but so often within minutes have laid
it down, maybe to never give it much attention
ever again. New things grab our attention, but it
takes much more than novelty to hold it.
A couple of months ago at Khulna Bible College in
Bangladesh we bought a new reel-type manual lawn
mower. It has no motor, and is powered only by the
energy of the one pushing it. Yet, compared to the
hand cutting of the grass and weeds that we had
been doing, the new mower is modern technology. It
makes the weekly maintenance of the campus much
easier and much more productive.
We got back to Khulna from Dhaka, where we
purchased the mower, on Monday. Friday is the
normal work day on campus, when the grass is cut.
Constantly during that week students and staff
would go by the storage room and look at the
mower. When Friday morning came someone ran to get
it, and students vied for who would be the first
to try it out. Throughout the morning lines formed
as each waited his turn to push. It was fun to
watch them in their enthusiasm for this new tool.
I am eager to return to Bangladesh, and one thing
I want to see is whether the same enthusiasm for
working with the mower continues after it is no
longer so new. I suspect that excitement may wane.
New and different soon becomes routine, then old,
and eventually obsolete. Initial excitement turns
to boredom and dissatisfaction.
Paul saw a similar phenomenon among the Christians
of Galatia. The appeal of the pure and simple
Gospel of Jesus Christ was no longer enough for
some. Grace was replaced with a new system that
afforded more glory to the doer. What man did
outshone what God did. The new doctrine was
logical, it was attractive, and most of all, it
was new, at least to the Gentile Christians of
Galatia. So many accepted it.
In our modern world we are constantly bombarded
with the new. New fashion, new entertainment, new
technology -- yes, and new doctrines and
religions. When I graduated from college about 35
years ago there were 300 plus "Christian"
denominations. Now it is said that there are over
three thousand. New interpretations of Bible
teaching are constantly being promoted, along with
the latest fashion in worship styles and religious
vocabulary. Many people move from one group to the
next, always attracted by the newest and most
exciting.
We should remember that God only sent one Savior,
Jesus only built one Church, and the Spirit only
wrote one Book. "But if even we, or an angel from
heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to
what we have preached to you, he is to be
accursed" (Galatians 1:8).
Not everything new is better. Not everything old
is obsolete. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
It is not novelty or change that should be our
criterion for acceptance, but truth. John
commanded, "Test the spirits, to see whether they
have come from God" (1 John 4:1).
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