Getting past the surface

August 22, 2007

By Jerry Scott

I want to be a person of depth, giving my energies to things packed with meaning and purpose. Every day I am confronted with the temptation to live on the surface of life, doing the minimum necessary to keep the gears turning — killing time by avoiding involvement with issues demanding effort or commitment on my part.

God calls me to a deeper life. He asks me to remain engaged in the work of the Kingdom, to take seriously His call to be a disciple, to be laser-focused on knowing Jesus and making Him known.

Pastor and author Gordon MacDonald tells of going to a convalescent home to visit his grandfather. Time had dulled the once-keen edge of the elderly man’s mind. He did not know where he was, the year, or even who many members of his family were, including Gordon. After attempting conversations with his grandfather, a faithful Christian through the years, Gordon prepared to leave and asked if he might pray with his grandfather, who readily agreed.

Then the old man asked if he could pray. A change came over his person. He called on God to bless those around him. It was a prayer that included Bible references and was clear and focused. He started to pray for the man in front of him.

“Lord, bless …” He paused to ask, “Who are you?”

“I’m your grandson, Gordon.”

“Oh, yes. Lord, bless Gordon.”

When age and a failing mind had stripped nearly everything of value from this saint, including awareness of his own grandson’s identity, the depth of his being was still revealed. He was, more than anything else, a man who loved and knew God! (As told in The Life God Blesses.)

All around me I see men and women living superficially. Their minds are “full” of nothing — TV trivia, sports facts, fashion news. They measure their worth by their attractiveness, their wealth, their physical agility, their IQ, their house, their car — anything but the things of God. Their true love is self.

“Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth” (Philippians 3:19, NLT).

Such people are living ghosts flitting through this world with empty souls. They cling to the illusion of eternal youth, and why not? If a person is without depth of soul, aging is a terrible curse that slowly erodes one’s ability to enjoy earthly pleasures.

Too often, even followers of Christ are caught up in a life of superficiality, praying shallow “bless me” prayers endlessly, demanding that God give them lives of ease, that He leave them untroubled by the suffering of others who are held slaves to sin. In the reverse of what Jesus taught, they “seek to be served, not to serve!” Such believers, someone has said, “play at their worship, and worship their play.”

Jesus pointedly states, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26).

Whether you are 14, 40, or 74, pursue God! Stop dabbling at this and that, passing the time in diversions. Get alone with God and find out what His will is for you and embrace it. Yes, it will demand effort. It will cost you your freedom to spend yourself on what you want. You will no longer be able to lay claim to ownership of yourself. He is Master of all, or not at all! You will gain a life of purpose, one that pleases God now and eternally.

Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor of Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.