What do I mean by that?
First let me clarify that the eternal destiny of a human soul is critically important, and cooperating with God in the re-birthing process of a human being is the greatest joy we can experience.
I thank God my Mother explained why Jesus died for me. She helped me walk through the amazing re-birth process, whereby I became part of the family of God, and received assurance that I would live with Him forever. I remember this monumental moment like it was yesterday.
But I reduced the Gospel to the “Gospel of Personal Salvation.”
In my view from the pew, I saw the “work of God” as only that which pertained to the after-life and the soul.
Why did I think this way?
Because I divorced the material world from the spiritual world. I divided time from eternity. I separated this world from that world, and failed to see that it is all God’s world.
Our God is not the God of either-or, but the God of both-and: both this world and the next. And He is the Supreme Ruler of both!
Either-or thinking can trouble (torment?) followers of Christ in a culture that divides this world from that world.
Josh Smith (thanks for commenting, Josh) experienced this when he asked his wife, "How do I serve God when I am so involved in making a living, being a father, husband, son, son-in-law...?"
The hazards of either-or thinking can cause a follower of Christ who works at Boeing to say, “How do I serve God when I am so involved in building airplanes?”
But the fact is, we serve God by building airplanes!
Really?
To be continued…
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