Matthew 10

Matthew 10:38-39 "And whoever doesn't take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it."

Where is Christianity in America? I mean true Christianity! We have turned Christ into a cute little plush toy or life accessory. Our understanding of Him demands little effort, little time, minimal commitment, and sadly returns little reward and satisfaction.

It has been said that it isn't that Christianity has been tried and found wanting, rather true Christianity has seldom been tried! Looking back over this chapter we find several instances where Christ presents a Christianity almost foreign to the Church in America. "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword..." to turn family members against one another (because of the expectation of the natural rub between genuine radical faith against a world so set against it!). We will be hated. We will be killed, though we should not fear. We must be as shrewd as serpents, yet harmless as doves. We must declare truth from the housetops and acknowledge Christ before men.

How does all this jive with the American dream; spouse, two and a half kids, home and two cars, nice jobs, espn, espn classic, espn 2, espn ... ? Well, the answer may be, "Not very well." We are called to lose our lives for the sake of Christ. That means everything is different. We watch different things (maybe we don't watch near as much... maybe we spend some time in God's Word instead, or gathered as a family for a family devotion), we speak different words (we take initiative to direct positive conversation rather than be taken into gossip and slander; we share the gospel, not ashamed of Christ before men), we spend differently (we aren't caught up in the latest fads, toys, and gadgets; we spend less on the material world so that we can give more to spiritual endeavors); and we live differently (priorities are God, family, job... not the other way around!).

Here's the promise. Lose your worldly life... and He will give us spiritual life. I know it's worth it. Now, I just need to do it... Taste and see that the Lord is good!