Earlier today, I was pondering some recent events in my life. In the confluence of these events plus a sermon preached by our pastor, some devotional thoughts shared by another pastor, and a book I've been reading entitled
"Through Gates of Splendor" somehow I recalled some teaching I'd heard on Mark 7:1-13. In this passage, Jesus is chastising the Pharisees for their hypocrisy. Specifically, he is challenging a practice of the time in which a religious person might declare property or wealth "Corban", or set aside for God, solely for the purpose of avoiding having to spend it on something they wished to avoid--caring for their aged parents. They had taken an idea which
sounded good--dedicating something to God's use--and were abusing it for personal gain. All along the way, they considered themselves religious and righteous.
In Acts 5 we find Ananias and Sapphira, an example of hypocrisy in
the church. This couple sold a field and set aside a portion of the
proceeds to give to the church. But something was wrong. It seems that
in fact they attempted to mislead the apostles and the church into
believing they had greatly sacrificed in bringing the entire proceeds
from the sale before the church when in fact it was only a portion. For
lying to the Holy Spirit they paid with their lives. Being "religious" was important to them, but living lives for God's glory wasn't.
I don't really know what it was that triggered the recollection of this "Corban" passage, except that I have been reading and thinking a lot about what it means to be
fully devoted to God. Not the false devotion the pharisees were practicing in Mark 7. So the Spirit must have brought it to mind
Through the complete devotion of five men to Christ, a tribe who had never heard the name of Jesus escaped a cycle of violence and death and saw many come to Christ. Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Roger Youderian and Pete Fleming understood total devotion. So did their wives. Do we understand it today? Would we give up our lives for the sake of the gospel?
Hopefully we have not gone to the extent of lying to the Holy Spirit like Ananias and Sapphira, but are we completely unlike the Pharisees of Jesus' day? They had become very good at being religious. Give a little, serve a little, show up to church, maybe even venture out and attend a Bible study. A friend of mine recently shared with me how in his spiritual journey, he had been visiting a church hoping to find God but could tell something just wasn't right. He noticed the people of the church were always talking about what they could do for themselves, what they could build for themselves, yet weren't looking at how they could make an impact outside their four walls. He saw little to no evidence of anything but a focus on self. This didn't make sense, even to an unbeliever. Yes, the church is naturally full of imperfect Christians, of which I am one, but let's not use that as a weak excuse for a lack of self-examination.
What if we practiced "Corban" in the spirit of Romans 12? What if we
the church declared our lives "Corban", set aside for God's purpose,
and unlike the hypocrites of Jesus' day, we meant it and lived it? This
is not a new idea, nor is it mine! In Romans 12:1 Paul beseeches
believers to offer our bodies as living sacrifice, because of the mercy
God has shown us, after having just explained a miracle. That as Gentiles, we are
graciously grafted in to God's family, and that Israel's salvation is
not forgotten either. He then spends the rest of chapter 12 describing
practical ways in which we'll see fruit if we are living fully devoted
to the Lord. How different and how powerful a force would the church be for the gospel of Christ if we lived this?
By no means can I say I've "arrived". That won't happen until I go to be with God in Christ. I am asking God to show me more of Himself and to help me yield everything to Him, even those things that all of us have in the flesh we don't want to allow Him control over. So it's not about what I do in my own strength or flesh. I am finding that a better understanding of who He is through a closer and closer walk with him -- both how much He loves and how just He is -- lead me to a natural worship response that has me wanting to entrust everything in my life to Him. And as I do, He is faithful.
So, what then? And what does this have to do with an Orphan Ministry blog? Well, as someone who cares about orphans I know just how much work there is to be done for the cause of Christ in ministry to orphans. Since God cares deeply for the brokenhearted he has called the church to uphold the cause of the widow, the orphan, and the alien. They need the hope the gospel provides. But the task is daunting. How can the church make an impact in the lives of 150 million orphans, many who are dying apart from Christ? Sometimes I need a reminder. The answer is found in God's word and starts simply with the Gospel. That out of a natural response to the outpouring of grace in our lives, we will respond and offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Then it's no-holds-barred. It's not up to us. We're God's vessels to do with as He pleases for His glory. Fully devoted.
