Closet Christian

In Matthew 10, Jesus begins to prepare His disciples for the ministry to which He has called them.  The chapter provides an important reminder that following Jesus is never simply for our own good.  Jesus calls us that we might minister to others.  This message has been lost in the Church today.  Especially in the West and even more so in America, we market a Christianity that is all about self-fulfillment and the meeting of perceived needs.  Jesus never intended His disciples to follow simply for their own good. Instead, Jesus intended that His disciples be trained to minister, to do the very work that He did.


Our Christianity has become ingrown, however.  We lack the missionary vision that Jesus had.  Part of this is because we do live in a selfish culture, one that cares far more about our own comforts and hopes and aspirations than about the needs of others.  But another part of our ingrown Christianity is quite honestly our embarrassment with Jesus.  Miracles aren't received well by scientific skeptics.  Hell doesn't merge well with postmodern notions of tolerance.  Jesus' call to be sacrificial doesn't sit well with our self centered, therapeutic culture.  Many of us have lost our willingness to speak for Jesus because Jesus doesn't always fit well with our culture.  The price of speaking might be high.


Jesus gives a stern warning about this in verses 32-33.  He says there: "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.  But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."  There is a high price to shame about Jesus.  There is a high price to not being willing to identify with Jesus in front of others.  Jesus' words call us out of our closet Christianity.  They move to us be ministering and to have a Christianity that is about serving Jesus and others not ourselves.