Good Works and Good Reasons

   One of the things that our church here proposes to do is to lead men and women, boys and girls to become fully committed followers of Jesus Christ. That covers a lot of territory, and the key lies in the definition of the term "fully committed".

   Back in the old days, when we were raising our family of 2 boys and a girl, my "fully committed" looked like this:

Church on Sunday Morning
Church on Sunday night
Church on Wednesday Night
Sunday School for all
Youth Group for Teens
Committee Assignments wherever asked to serve
Leadership in Sunday School and Church Training
Deacon Service
Tithing
Anything else that needed to be done at church
Ethical and Moral Business Practices
Abstention from bad stuff (smoking, drinking and gambling)
Being a good Provider
Not Neglecting the Family
Activity in Civic Affairs

   Now, not that any of the above was not good, because it was, and I proved my loyalty to that lifestyle by the way I lived, at least outwardly, but not always without doing some of it grudgingly.

   But there is a difference in being fully committed and being a fully committed follower of Jesus Christ. The motivation behind the activity is the key. Not just good works, but good works because of a relationship with a Person.

   I sometimes wonder what my kids thought about all of that activity, and the reasons behind it. Maybe someday they will tell me, but for now, I would tell them that doing the right things is not as far as it goes. Personal Bible Study and Prayer, leading to a relationship with the God of the Universe, through His Son, is more important than all the good works I can do. Hopefully my lack of depth in this area is not, and will not be, a deterrent to their spiritual growth.

   Right now I am trying to do better and for the right reason.