Some journeys are only meant to be traveled once.

Yet, the path to our redemption is re-walked so often during Sunday morning sermons that we lose sight of the goal it was leading us to.

You’d think the Body of Christ needs saving over and over again.

[What’s my redemption?  see: Different Fruit…Same Good News]

Think about it.

If my Christian life revolves only around what’s been given to me, there won’t be much time to focus on the prize the Lord wants me to win.  The wheels driven by discipleship can’t turn when they’re stuck on first base.

And discipleship has always been about the prize.

In his letter to the church of God which [was] at Corinth, to those who [had] been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place [called] on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours, the apostle Paul sought not to be disqualified from receiving the imperishable prize:

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.  Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.  They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim.  I box in such a way, as not beating the air.  But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”   [1Cor. 9:24-27] [my emphasis]

[ἀδόκιμος: (âdókîmôs) failing to meet the test, disqualified; worthless; corrupted (mind)]

Christ’s Good News needs to be shared with those who have ears to hear it.  But nothing is gained by overthinking God’s grace.  In fact, if I omit the part about running the race to win or face the penalty of being disqualified as a fellow partaker of Jesus Christ’s inheritance, then I’m passing on false information.

Competing for a prize is a familiar enough concept for most men.  It’s an inherent goal that’s demonstrated in the workplace and sporting events alike by both participants and spectators.

But consider the goals of the Evil One.  A valuable prize that no one has heard about will never be sought.  Even so, the hopeful human heart will still find something to latch on to.

The result?

Christ’s flock soon becomes preoccupied with something it can never lose—its redemption.

If I can’t see the prize at home plate, I won’t even think about trying to steal second.

In a community of rational people, the goal of civil debate is best achieved when both sides recognize that reasonable differences are presented as objectives which are actually reasonable.

But in a world unbound by a moral code, reasonability has become a flexible parameter, that is, something needed to accomplish a goal rather than define it. So, I keep reminding myself that’s how the world works.

It’s always re-thinking, re-defining and re-making itself.

No wonder so many discussions don’t make sense. That’s probably why “the disciple that Jesus loved” didn’t have a lot of good things to say about how the world works:

“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. [1Jn. 2:15-16]

There you go.

I can’t love the world and love the truth. They’re incompatible.

The world is willing to give me everything my flesh craves. We like to call it the good life. But the only life this world offers is built upon what seems reasonable to those who lust for its treasures. Look around. The rulers of this world sustain themselves with those treasures: power, pride and flesh.

I wonder…do they know where this is all going?

The world is passing away, and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God remains in the age.” [1Jn. 2:17]

[Why is it important to be able to “remain in the age?” see: Let’s Engage the Coming Age!]

I can’t think of a Bible verse that’s more direct and comprehensive in illustrating how much influence this world has over Jesus Christ’s disciples than what the apostle Paul wrote to “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who [were] at Colossae:”

“See [that] no one shall be taking you captive through human wisdom and empty deception, based on the traditions of men, based on the elementary forces of the world and not based on Christ.”  [vs. 2:8]

It’s interesting to note here what he says deception is based on. Human wisdom. Tradition. The fundamental things of the world.

Isn’t it reasonable to assume these things are stumbling blocks to any man who is determined to “remain in the age,” that is, the age to come?

Maybe that depends on who you ask.

Sure, everybody needs Jesus, but that’s not always where it starts.

I wouldn’t try to start training an injured animal until I could successfully bring relief to its suffering.  In the same way, if I want to be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ, I first have to be able to recognize the immediate needs of someone who asks for help over any craving I might have to share God’s Good News with them.

That’s just common sense.  Right?

Then why are some of us so eager to dump our religious truck on another’s suffering as the first step in its solution?  The reasons would vary, of course, but I often remind myself that immaturity is likely to distort any rational thought process.   I speak from personal experience.

On the other hand, the members of a spiritually mature congregation of Jesus Christ recognize immediacy as something critical to constructive problem solving.

Yet, some of us just don’t get it.

It hard to expect the man who just lost his job to respond positively to an invitation to next week’s Bible study or the Wednesday night Couple’s Focus Group.

His focus is on survival and he’s looking for a timely solution.  The odds are he’s not even able to think about God right now, let alone ask Him for anything.  While prayer, fellowship and personal growth are essential to helping him get back on his feet in the long term, he needs food, money and attention in real time.

Mature Christian love seeks out and fulfills the urgency of genuine need.  It doesn’t patronize, misguide or coddle.

It blends an immediate, practical solution with a Biblical path which will help to insure its success.

This passage has been on my mind lately:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and makes known through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place, since we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.”  [2Cor. 2:14-15; words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the church of God which [was] at Corinth with all the saints who [were] throughout Achaia]

I memorized it years ago since it seemed to confirm an interesting impression I developed about certain people whom I’d met for the first time.  While I rarely ever asked, I often sensed if they were disciples of Jesus Christ.

There was just something about them that made me feel that way.

But then, I’m a disciple too.   So, if God is spreading the “scent of the knowledge of Jesus Christ” around me as well, how does it smell to everybody else?

What should the world sense about Him through my presence?

I have to confess that, over the past 10 months, my aura hasn’t consistently spread a “pleasing aroma” of Christ effectively to those around me.  Some could even question my diligence about choosing to be led by the Spirit.  I believe they’d be justified in doing so.

But let no one challenge the inherent ambitions of my masculinity by calling them toxic.

Because the presence of the knowledge of Christ demonstrates much more than just patience with a smile.  The one who senses that I might be Christ’s disciple must also be able to recognize a man of discernment who’s not afraid to stand up to the irrational demands of tyrants and Socialist bullies. He needs to witness my structural preference for protecting children, families and livelihoods from the devastating effects of their schemes, regardless of the cost.

If he thinks such confrontational tactics are Biblically unwarranted, perhaps he can recall how our Lord Jesus Himself physically cleansed the temple of corruption and usury, offering no apologies in the process.  [see: Matt. 21:12-13, Mk. 11:15, Jn. 2:15-16]

So, even though the fragrance of Jesus Christ surrounding me can sometimes be tainted by the odor of human weakness, it seems to me that both “those who are being saved” and “those who are perishing” have something to verify by witnessing my behavior.

Hopefully, those being saved will be encouraged by the words or actions of a valiant man.

On the other hand, those who are perishing might well be afraid of perishing.  Odds are, they’re looking for anything that might delay that process regardless of whether it makes sense or not.

But who knows what the sweet aroma of Jesus will do when it blows across their faces?

Adding value is what life’s about.

We all seem to be wired to do that in some way even when we’re not thinking about it.  Ever since the beginning, the created man has been charged with maintaining and protecting things of worth:

“Then the Lord God took the man, whom He formed, and He put him in the garden to work it and guard [it]”  [Gen. 1:15, translated from the Septuagint]

Later, He rescued the people He chose and led them out of bondage into a new land.  Then He set them apart from the rest of the world by establishing a culture which was meant to revolve not only around Himself, but also around the idea that the real worth of community was realized in the citizen’s ability to create value.  This was a radical paradigm shift in socioeconomics, assigning as much significance to the value-creating process as it did the result.

Sure, other civilizations recognized the merit of personal relationships at that time too, but perhaps never had the worth of the individual been so advanced as when the Lord established His nation Israel.

And that’s actually part of what makes the Good News so good.

Because as a partaker of the New Covenant, my value as a redeemed man will never diminish. Having been sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirt of promise, I choose to serve the living God with every confidence in His pledge.

[What does it mean to be “redeemed?”  see: Different fruit, Same Good News.]

That being said, the disciple of Jesus Christ actually is charged to add value—not just to himself, but rather to the person of Christ and to God’s kingdom.  Both Jesus and the apostolic authors taught that He shall indeed reward good works in proportion to their value when He returns.  They often referred to these rewards as an inheritance.

[What is an “inheritance?”  see: Birthright Through Redemption]

Unfortunately, this is a concept which is rarely taught or preached about in His congregations today.  But that’s no excuse for missing out on the very best God has to offer those He’s called for His purposes.

Adding value to God’s kingdom isn’t just about generous tithing or donating to the Summer youth camp fund.  In fact, just becoming a faithful disciple of Christ is the most valuable thing a man can do.  At that point, the sky’s the limit.

Whether it’s on the job, studying the Bible with other men, or meeting to encourage one another, every disciple has the potential to increase value.

What will it take for him to realize that?

Nothing cripples the human spirit more than forced isolation.

Sure, we all need our space from time to time, but our lives are only made complete through physical contact.  Nobody ever had to tell us this.  We practice it instinctively.  If that ability is taken away or forfeited, all that makes living worthwhile soon begins to erode.

That’s a fact based on empirical evidence.  Look around.

If someone would’ve tried to convince me last January that almost every congregation of the Body of Christ would soon choose not to meet on Sundays because some public official said they couldn’t, I would’ve laughed.  I would’ve argued that Jesus Christ’s faithful disciples would never surrender anything to Caesar that wasn’t his.

But apparently I’m wrong.

It appears that there are enough good people in our congregations willing to ignore an obvious Biblical principle not to diminish the value of having regular fellowship even though foolish restrictions are being imposed upon them which have no basis in legitimate public health concerns.

Now I’m willing to bet King Nebuchadnezzar didn’t require face masks.  But when he ordered the ancient prophet Daniel’s three friends to bow down to an idol, their response was typical of men who never doubted that right decisions were usually tough ones:

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”  [Dan. 3:16-18]

Did these men fear anything?

I’ve always presumed that someday, an attempt would be made to physically force Christ’s people away from their sanctuaries at gunpoint.  But I never thought I’d witness the Lord’s congregation’s allowing fear to consume them.  It’s the Great Deceiver’s weapon of choice, yet some of us are wearing it on our sleeves.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews made no exception for either ignorance or cowardice when he reminded the readers about the importance of their meeting together regularly:

“…and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”  [Heb. 10:24-25]  [my emphasis]

So, is “having church” a Biblical mandate?  You bet it is.

There’s absolutely no substitute for Jesus Christ’s disciples coming together in the flesh to worship.  If each of us is essential to the function of His Body as a whole, can we accomplish our tasks from six feet away?  Can we pull it off on the internet?  How can we experience [or offer] an encouraging touch or a much needed hug or handshake using Zoom?

How can I comfort a broken heart if I can’t see the tears behind the mask?!!

The physicality of human relationships is what makes them a created miracle.

Who’s willing to suffer to have them again?