If I Give It All

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Isaiah 6:6-8

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

The saints make mention of how love for Christ is love for all men. St. Moses says to die to all men in order to harm no men. Be alive only to God, love only God. God, who is everywhere and fills all things. Do you see? To love God is to love all things.

I don't know why, but it's been slowly burning in my heart, this desire to see people come to know Christ. I'm listening to a sermon by Mattie Montgomery as I type this. He is saying that uplifting messages, that social justice, is not enough. People need Christ and Christ alone. The world is not mean, or lacking laws or equality. The world is lacking Christ. The American church is lacking Christ.

I remember a baptist preacher was saying, "They're not impressed! They're not impressed with us 'do what everyone else does' Christians. Don't build a church like that!" 

In all the theology, in even the scriptures themselves, I got caught up in religiosity, it doing things. I guess I was kept busy enough to distract myself. I see a great danger now in the stain of modern religion, how the devil can keep you busy with a "form of godliness. (2 Tim. 3:1-5)"

Oh Christians, it is not popular, not even among our fellow believers. But Christianity is always and only about Christ. Every icon of every saint bears the image of Christ. Every icon walking about, the living images of God that is this humanity are all image bearers. 

We have saints who walked into town in the Ottoman empire preaching Christ and were martyred. We have St. Aqualina who was preaching Christ and teaching the scriptures at the age of 12. A holy martyr for converting her friend. We have St. Eulalia, burned alive at the age of 15, mocking her executioners and rejoicing in the life to come.

Let us do as St. Seraphim has spoken: "Aquire a spirit of peace, and a thousand around you may be saved."

Lord, may we acquire such a spirit.