The One Conviction

Either God is alive or dead, this is a conclusion we all must reach. If he is dead, then life is simply the cumulative result of our skills, charisma, passions and effort. If he lives, we must lift our eyes to a greater purpose… be filled with a greater power… pour ourselves out for the greater things he sets before us.

Men and women may do little for the Kingdom of Heaven because they speak of a living God while privately suspecting He never left the grave. Is it possible to work in the church, even as a pastor, but struggle to be fully convinced that God is living and active? The short answer… yes! It is an unfortunate truth in our generation that much church ministry is done in the name of Jesus but without the evidence of His living presence. I suppose, to be fair, I should admit that we are not the only generation who has struggled with this. James, in his letter to the Jewish Christians of his day, writes in his first chapter that the God who sees our hearts will not move His hand on behalf of duplicity of conviction. Perhaps they shared our struggle.

The most accurate measurement of your current belief is your current action. What does your life and leadership say to those who are watching you? Are you currently an advertisement of His death or of His resurrection? Do your thoughts, attitudes and actions today reflect your belief in a living God… or a God who never quite made it out of the tomb? As we begin a new year, offer people the gift of a living God flowing out of you. That gift may change the trajectory of their life forever.

Dan Scarrow

District Superintendent
North Central District of The C&MA