Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Press "like" if you LOVE Jesus...


I'm not going to press "like" if I LOVE Jesus,
Or forward a prayer to 12 people within 5 minutes,
Or repost because "I'm not ashamed of the gospel"...Bleh!

What is proved by any of these things? Grace is not forwarded or reposted. Grace is from God alone. It is lived, and received, and flows out of real lives, and real hearts, and real words that are governed by the Holy Spirit. We can share words of truth and grace online, but not in trite, thoughtless (without giving it thought), non-soul-searching ways.

Our salvation was bought with the life of the Son of God who became a man, took all our sins - and the punishment for them - upon Himself, died a terrible death, and was gloriously raised from the dead. He did not just "press 'like' if you're God and You so love the world."

We don't summon the God of the universe by pressing "like," or forwarding magic prayers, or reposting "in your face" declarations. And none of these things confirms His real, rebirth presence in our hearts. It's easy to press "like." It takes sacrifice to follow Jesus. It takes humility and repentance. It is a life and a "walk" and a process, not a one-time prayer or an easy click of a button.

Bah! This is my response to the GodVine "ad" in my sidebar: Press "like" if you LOVE Jesus.

(I am not a fan of "Jesus junk" either. "They will know we are Christians by our love for one another," among many other things, but not by our cool bumper stickers, key chains, posters, and pens.)

Does the trivializing and marketing of God and everything that is holy bother anyone else?