Is Christianity About Meeting My Needs?

I got this thought from recent tweet by @fhdavidchadwick: Modern day Christianity is more about getting our needs met than it is about a radical call to give up everything in life to follow Jesus.

That’s pretty much where the rubber meets the road isn’t? Are we the type of Christians who are more interested in what Jesus can do for us, or are we the type who try to follow him regardless of where we have to go?

It’s funny where the brain goes when presented with such a question. You’d never guess, so I’ll just come out and tell you that when the question really hit home, an old song almost immediately came to my mind. I don’t think it was written for any Christian inspiration, but one never knows. Any way, I had to go look up the lyrics to see if they were anything like I had remembered. The title of the song is want made it jump into my head, but last two lines of the first verse really say it all: “Where my dad never promised that our blue moon would turn gold - But he laid awake nights wishin' that it would.”

It is the same with our Heavenly Father. He never promised us that if we followed Jesus that our blue moon would turn gold, but just like the song, many modern day Christians “lay awake nights wishing that it would.”

I had a pretty severe ear infection last week. I did not just lay around and pray that it would go away. I went to the doctor. But in the few days I had to wait to see the doctor because of an unusual southern snow storm, I did pray for the strength to see me through until I could get to the doctor.

Did Christ meet my wants? Did my blue moon turn to gold? Hardly. I wanted the pain to stop; right now. On the other hand, did He meet my needs as He promised. I made it through, the infection is nearly gone, and I am nearly pain free.

Although the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band didn’t specifically mention anything about Christianity, I feel it would have been apropos. Real Christianity is a “Long Hard Road.” It is not for the faint of heart or for those that want a quick fix for all our needs. But, if I want to spend eternity with Christ, I don’t think spending this life concentrating on my needs is the answer. I need to follow Jesus now.