Missional Christianity: The Abundant Life

Consider these verses, which some may consider paradoxical:

(John 10:10b KJV) I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

(Luke 9:23-24) Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Deny myself? AND have abundant life? Doesn’t make much sense, Jesus. Which is it?

The “abundant life” Christians emphasize the many benefits of the modern church: friends, great teen and children’s programs, edifying sermons, emotional health through classes and support groups, marriage counseling, even a gymnasium and a preschool. Heck, some churches have a coffee bar. Some have coffee bars for their teens! Joining the modern full-service congregation does wonders for your quality of life–and dues are entirely voluntary! If you can’t sell this, you can’t sell anything!

The “deny yourself” Christians are much less fun to be around. Some run off to the hills for prayer vigils, or they bury themselves in theology, or maybe they just complain about the church being too materialistic and vote against every change the elders want to make.

Hmm … But “deny yourself” doesn’t really mean “deny others.” It means “give up what you want for the benefit of others,” doesn’t it? Hmm …

Let’s take a step backwards. What is church really all about? Is it modern marketing techniques applied to serve Kingdom needs? Is it returning to the way things were 50 or 100 years ago? Is it being frugal with the Lord’s resources (resources that he’s LAVISHED on us!)

Well, then, is it about getting saved? Is the point of church to save our souls so that we’ll be with Jesus in heaven? No, it’s not. It’s about serving others.

(Eph. 2:8-10) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Very plainly, we were saved, not as the ultimate end but as a means–so that we’d be positioned to do good works.

Not surprisingly, Paul follows this declaration with an instruction to leaders–

(Eph. 4:11-12a) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service … .

Our job as leaders–elders and preachers–is not to preach the gospel to the saved but to equip the saved to help others. (Of course, this actually IS preaching the gospel to the saved!)

(Rom. 7:6) But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

In this passage, Paul also tells us that our service is “of the Spirit.” It’s an internally motivated service, coming from God living within us. Similarly, he also says,

(Phil. 2:13) [I]t is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Now, this changes things. If my service is motivated by the Spirit within me, and if God is working in me (through his Spirit) to change my will so that I act as he wishes, and if what he wishes is that I serve … then what I should want to do is serve. And what is more joyous, more free, more abundant, than to do what I want?

(Gal. 5:13) You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

This is true freedom. If we use our freedom to sin, we offend the Spirit and risk our very salvation. But if we are true to our new nature, the new creation within us, then we will–in freedom–do what we want to do, that is, serve. And this will be abundant life!!

(1 Pet. 4:10-11) Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

And so the paradox is no paradox at all. Denying self is the very same thing as serving others. “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

The word translated “save” can equally well be translated “heal,” and often is in other contexts. Try this one on for size: “For whoever wants to heal his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will heal it.” The apostles Jesus spoke to heard the double meaning.

Taking up your cross daily is not dealing with a burden that you cannot escape. It’s wrong to say, “My arthritis [or sick parent or nagging wife] is my cross to bear.” No, a cross is an instrument of death, and Jesus was saying that we should die every day–and we do this to deny ourselves–meaning that we give things up to help others.

And the more we give up–voluntarily, in freedom–the less we’ll want and the happier we’ll be.

You see, ever since the time of Luther, Protestant Christianity has been all about getting saved. And since the First Great Awakening in the 18th Century, it’s also been about evangelizing the lost. But I’m not aware of a time in the 2,000 history of the church, since the first century or three, that it was about self-denial and service to others.

In order for me to join God’s family, I must be forgiven. He could hardly invite into fellowship if we weren’t on good terms. But now that I’m in his family, my place is to be like a son of God, that is, like Jesus. And what Jesus did was teach the gospel and–filled with compassion, voluntarily, in perfect freedom–help those in need.

Those with a Calvinistic slant to their theology will fret that this creates a new legalism, a new works religion. If so, then so be it. If Jesus died so that I’d serve others, I can’t let my theology keep me from honoring the purpose of Jesus’ death! But it’s really just very, very wrong.

God wants me to love him and he wants my love shown through service to others (how selfless is that?) But if I serve others out of compulsion, then it’s not love that I’m showing. Rather, it’s a lie forced on me by extortion. The service God wants is freely offered, just as Jesus chose to die for us–he could have said no, you know.

Those with a Church of Christ background will be tempted to define “serve” as “obeying God’s commands” and define that as “having the right order of worship and church organization.” [sigh] You can only think that way if you have no compassion for the vulnerable and marginalized, if you haven’t gotten around to reading the Gospels (especially Luke), if you don’t understand the heart of Jesus–or if you’ve been taught very badly, as is more commonly the case (but I hope you can see how badly this thinking misses the point.)

For the immature (or for those of us just a little slow to catch on), Jesus describes Judgment Day in Matthew 25. He describes the saved and damned as divided based on who helps the poor and needy. He was not contradicting salvation by faith–he was explaining salvation by faith.

Our salvation produces the indwelling Spirit, who produces a changed heart, which wants to serve, and so we serve–because we want to. I truly believe that most Christians fail to serve because they’ve not been taught–much less given the opportunity. They sit in their pews wondering why they have these desires to meaningfully help others while the preacher assures them that the path to heaven is pure doctrine!

If we would preach service more, our members would feel more free, not less! They’d be happier. They’d have abundant life–and that cross they’re lugging around would feel like a very light, a very easy yoke.

(Matt. 11:29-30) “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”