Ah, the lost art of tying a tie. I experienced it this past weekend as the man doing the marrying at a young couple's wedding.
It was fairly amusing watching the helpless look on the groomsmen's faces as they were handed their necktie to put on for the ceremony. There they stood, fingering that mysterious piece of cloth, wondering what to do with it. I suggested to the guys my theory as to how ties came to be - they were invented by a woman who had a big time grudge against men. Gloating over the thought that every time men would have to dress up, they'd strangle themselves.
OK. So much for my little tirade. I can do my tie easily enough. I just can't think backwards enough to tie one on someone else. But I couldn't just leave these guys hangin'. So I tied each of their ties on myself, loosened it and put it on them. They were ready for the self-choking maneuver. And the wedding.
That was on Saturday. On Friday night, we all went tieless, but what we did looked a lot like a wedding. The bridesmaid/groomsmen couples came down that aisle, her arm in his. The beautiful music was playing. The groom and I were at the front. Then, the big moment. The bride and her father made that stately march down the aisle as people stood for the grand entrance. The father "gave away" his daughter...the bride and groom stood before the minister...and ultimately the young couple - all smiles now - marched out of that sanctuary together.
But they still weren't married.
It was only the rehearsal. So on Friday night, they entered that church not married. And they left - yup, not married.
But Saturday, they entered that church not married - and they left married! The difference? On Friday, they were just going through the motions. On Saturday, they committed their lives to each other.
There are a lot of people who walk into church Sunday after Sunday, looking all Christian - but without Jesus. And they walk out the same way they came in. Without Jesus. Because they're only going through the motions.
It's all too easy to do - sometimes without even realizing it. You have lots of Christianity and totally miss Christ. You go through all the motions of belonging to Him - believing all the right beliefs, doing all the right things, saying all the right words. Looking and sounding, for all the world, like a person who knows Jesus for real. But missing Him.
That's why God gives this warning to all us church folks: "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5).
There's something very sobering about a Judgment Day tragedy Jesus described. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven...Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you'" (Matthew 7:21-23).
Those are some of the most chilling words in the Bible. "You knew all about Me, but I never knew you." Because they had Jesus in their head - but somehow never asked Him into their heart. So, it's possible to know all about Jesus, but not really know Jesus.
Because you've missed the one step that makes the Savior your Savior. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). When God says "believe," He's talking about grabbing Jesus like He's your only hope. Pinning all your hopes on Jesus and what He did when He died on the cross to pay for every sin you've ever done. If you ask me if I'm married and I say, "I'm not sure," then I must not be married. If you don't know you've given yourself to Jesus, you probably haven't. Because it's a conscious commitment.
If you miss that step of committing your life to Him, you miss Jesus. You miss heaven.
Because you're just going through the motions.
If you're not sure you belong to Jesus - even though you're playing the part - I encourage you to check out my website at yoursforlife.net. I think it could help you get this settled once and for all.