Going Through the Motions

Friday, August 24, 2012

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Ah, the lost art of tying a tie. I experienced it a few weekends ago 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 even came to be. I think they were invented by a woman who had a big time grudge against men. Yep! And she's been gloating over the thought that every time men would have to dress up, they would strangle themselves.

Okay, so much for my little tirade. I can do my tie easily enough. I just can't think backwards enough to tie it on someone else. But I couldn't just leave these guys hangin'. So I tied each of their ties on myself, I loosened it and put it on them. Now, they were ready for the self-choking maneuver, and the wedding.

That was on Saturday. Friday night, we all went tieless, but it did look a lot like a wedding. The bridesmaid/groomsmen couples came down that aisle, her arm in his. Beautiful music was playing and 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 were not married. That was only the rehearsal. So on Friday night, they entered that church not married. And they left uh-huh not married. But Saturday, they entered that church not married and they left married! The difference? Well, on Friday, they were just going through the motions. On Saturday, they committed their lives to each other.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Going Through the Motions."

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, but you 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 you're missing Him.

That's why God gives this warning to all us church folks in our word for today from the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 13:5. Listen carefully, "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?"

There's something very sobering about a Judgment Day tragedy that 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," the Bible says (John 3:36). When God says "believe," He's talking about grabbing Jesus like He's your only hope. Pinning all your hopes on Him 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, "Well, I'm not sure," then I'm not married, right? If you don't know you've given yourself to Jesus, you probably haven't, because it is a conscious commitment.

If you've missed that step of committing your life to Him, then you've missed Jesus, and you will miss heaven, because you're just going through the motions. If you're not sure you belong to Jesus, even though you've been playing the part, please today say, "Jesus, today I want to be yours. Today I claim what you did on the cross for me; for my sin. You are my Savior beginning today."

And I would encourage you to go to our website and check out there how to be sure you really do belong to Him. YoursForLife.net. You could have this thing settled finally once and for all.