Practical Christianity
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Straight to the Cross
GUEST ARTICLE
Practical Christianity
by Ancil Jenkins
Most have heard the old story of the man who
refused to stand up when the preacher asked the
audience how many wanted to go to heaven. "Don't
you want to go to heaven when you die?" the
preacher asked. "Oh, I want to go to heaven when I
die," the man replied. "I thought you were getting
up a group to go today."
How true of so many to see heaven as the only
reward of Christianity. Paul said that godliness
is profitable, not only for the life to come, but
for this life also (1 Tim. 4:8). Even if there
were no spiritual, eternal benefits from being a
Christian, there are enough temporal benefits to
make such a life worthwhile.
Christianity is profitable physically. The
Christian regards his body as the temple of the
Holy Spirit, and therefore respects and cares for
it (1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 5:29). Harmful abuse from
carelessness or use of drugs is not respecting the
temple of the Holy Spirit. With such an attitude
on the part of many people in the world, a
Christian should naturally live longer, but
because he has taken care of his health, his
quality of life should also be much higher than
average. He feels good enough to enjoy so many of
life's blessings.
Christianity gives an economic benefit. We are
called to be honest in all things. As Christians
we are to give a full day's work for a day's pay.
God's children do not work to please men, but work
for their secular masters as if they worked for
the Lord. Christian business should provide
courtesy, service, and honesty, and such a
business should prosper (Rom. 12:17; Eph. 6:6,7).
Yet, personal satisfaction and security are not
the only reasons a Christian earns money. He
desires to have enough to share with those who
have less (Eph. 4:28).
Christianity is also profitable from an emotional
standpoint. I am constantly amazed and even amused
that so many self-help programs are based largely
on Biblical teachings. This does not say that some
Christians will not have to seek help, guidance,
and even therapy. However, unlike the non-
Christian, God's child has the resources to meet
life's stresses and make life's decisions, if he
will only avail himself of them. The resulting
security and self-assurances provide strong,
healthy, and lasting relationships, strengthening
every phase of life.
Even with all these wonderful physical benefits,
still the greatest blessings of Christianity are
the spiritual ones. One can endure a lifetime of
sickness, pain, and disability and still have hope
of the richest of all blessings. Even living in
abject poverty without any of life's luxuries is
not the greatest loss in the world. The greatest
loss is the loss of the soul. And contrary to what
most humans think, the greatest gain is to depart
from this world and be with Christ, to live
eternally with Him. What a blessing it is to serve
the Lord! It pays both now and throughout
eternity.
(Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol
39.)
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