Assumptions Can Be Fatal!

I appreciate everyone's comments on yesterday's post about the Coffee House raising money for Darfur. I am very proud of the young people who put it on and the people who gave towards this important issue. I always try to be cautious though about using language such as, "Now you guys have got it right! You are on the right track! This is what it is all about! Now you are truly living meaningfully!" It is so tempting to think that this is the church at its best. And I am tempted to say such things. But in fact it can possibly be the church at its worst! Always in the back of my mind is the story of those who found themselves before the Lord on the last day. They'd done it all right: used the Lord's name to cast out demons, prophesied, and did all kinds of amazing things. But the Lord never knew them. Those who only gave water to the thirsty and fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited prisoners were welcomed. Both parties were shocked. The former were surprised because they were so intentional and missional about their faith. The later were surprised because they weren't at all intentional with faith. The former did religious things but were disconnected from the Lord. The later were connected and didn't know it while doing non-religious acts. Go figure! In fact, the root is assumption: if you assume you're in, you're out. If you assume your out, you're in. Perhaps it goes something like that. So, ya, the coffee house was a success. But I dare not say that what we did pleased the Lord. We can't know. We must do what we know must be done. We must do the right thing at the time. When presented with injustice, we do the just thing. But it can be a giant and fatal leap to assume that this makes us right with God. The fine art photograph is the creation of my friend Mark Hemmings. It is a shot of a Ballet theater he saw in Hungary. Something devilish about that character? Watch out! That's what I'm trying to tell ya!