Deutero Q

The Scripture text in our Sunday morning worship service was from 2 Timothy 4, where Paul talks about "being poured out like a drink offering." Paul knew that his life was coming to a close and that he would soon be with the Lord. In that sense his life was being poured out.

But Paul's life was not just poured out at the end of his days. He poured himself out throughout his earthly life in Christ. His was a sacrificial life, a life of servanthood. He followed in the footsteps of his Master, the One who came into the world not to be served but to serve.

It occurs to me that we Christians should be living sacrificial, poured-out lives. I am aware, of course, that this kind of emphasis flies in the face of much of contemporary Christianity. Many churchgoers seem content to run from experience to experience, from fad to fad, from church to church, from one personality to another, in search of the latest spiritual high. The emphasis is often on what I can get from God, rather than how I can serve God and others. Entertainment and self-centeredness are the order of the day; sacrifice and servanthood do not often characterize "the church of what's happening now."

And yet one cannot read the New Testament and fail to see that the Christian life is primarily about surrender and service. We have much to learn from the poured-out lives of people such as the Apostle Paul. And of course the greatest example of the poured-out life is Jesus Christ, who gave His life for sinners. Jesus says that if we would come after Him we must deny self, take up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34-35).

How radically different that message is from the one so prevalent in the entertainment-driven, self-centered contemporary church. But the Word of God is clear: Christians are called to live sacrificial, poured-out lives, as we emulate our God and Savior Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-7).

May God open our eyes to the poverty of our spiritual condition and may we see how much we have been seduced and captured by our self-centered, consumer-driven culture. Let there be Christians who embrace genuine Christianity--a Christ-centered, servant-hearted faith that seeks to give more than get ... and in the process brings glory to God!

My friend, is yours a poured-out life?