Acid Test
on Jun 24 in Church, Everyday Life, Faith, LeadershipAn acid test is a test to determine whether a metal is authentic gold, or not.  The term has been generalized lately to define whether or not something Рanything Рis the real deal, or an impostor.
So what’s the acid test of someone who claims to be a Christ follower?
The Old Testament prophets are clear. ¬†Jesus is abundantly clear. ¬†Paul picks up where Jesus leaves off. ¬†Peter, James, John… all crystal clear.
The acid test is a question, posed in various times and in various ways.  And today, the question must be written on our mirrors, and confronted with boldness, courage, and humble assertiveness.
The question is not “What information have I learned about the Bible?” ¬†Great question. ¬†Bad acid test.
The question is not “Can I prove skeptics wrong?”
The question is not “Can I push my God-given political agenda through the appropriate channels?” Go for it.¬† But don’t call it the primary Christian acid test.
The question is not “Can I serve in the church, tithe to the church, or lead worship in the church?” ¬†Again… these are all great things. ¬†But they’re not THE thing.
The question is simple, and difficult. The acid test question of any Christian, for any time, in any place is this:
AM I LOVING OTHERS BETTER THAN I USED TO?
Jesus summed up the two most important commandments, really combining them into one over-arching commandment.  For Jesus, this was the acid test of someone who truly followed Him:
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.¬† And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ¬†All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ¬†Matt. 22:36-40.
The entire Old Testament, Jesus says, hinges on whether or not we’re loving God, and loving people. ¬†His listeners then, and His listeners now, cannot skirt around their participation in standing under the magnifying glass of this acid test.
Paul picks up on this and, in a passage we all hear (and dismiss?) at weddings, he says, “But now (now… while we’re still left on this earth) these three remain: Faith, hope, and love. ¬†But the greatest of these (the three things that remain while we’re on this earth) is love.” ¬†1 Cor. 13:13.
So how courageous are you feeling? ¬†Courageous enough to ask a friend if you’re more loving now than you were five years ago?
Courageous enough to ask your employees or your staff team if they feel more loved by you than they did at this time, 2006?
Courageous enough to ask your spouse, your children, or your parents if you’re loving them today with less judgment and sarcasm than in years past?
Friends… I fear that Christians have become known more for our doctrinal assertions, than for the way we love the people who disagree with those assertions? For it is so much easier to quote chapter and verse, than to truly love.
And when the whole of every chapter and every verse points to loving God and others, then I gotta simply ask…
Have we become too immersed in maintaining the rules of Christianity, all the while missing its very heart?
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Great post, Gary. My question is: how much of love is a choice (e.g., I choose to perform a loving act for this person) and how much is the Spirit of God changing us from the inside out so that acts and words of love come more “naturally”? And isn’t there an interplay between the two, meaning the more I choose to act in a loving way (based on the fact that I know that is what God wants me to do), the more I am yielding to Him, and therefore the more I am truly changed?
Another good question, how am I loving those who are vastly different than I am. Not just in their practice or lack of practic of religion. Those who’s lifestyles are different, their ecconomic are different, or their politics, whatever the things that divide us as people should not do so.
Gary, incredible post. Right on.
Jesse,
I would argue that all love (from a human standpoint) is preceded by a choice. That is the ultimate sad reality of individuals in hell. I know what you’re saying as it’s very similar to the “predestination vs. free will” thing: these things take a knowledge that is “above our pay grade”. And I agree with you that the more we do it, the more we do it, as He becomes more and we become less.
To Love as Jesus did I would say it’s only through His power that we can do this. But I think the bible is pretty clear that without Christ we can do nothing. We are retched dirty sinful anti-good people. Christ is the only thing that is good. But in God’s supernatural manner, He gives us a choice around every corner.
You can’t earn salvation, but you must accept it. That’s still a choice. That’s the closest example I can think of that better explains our choice to Love. We can’t Love on our own, but we still must choose to do it.