A couple months ago I mentioned a book I recently read entitled Classic Christianity by Bob George. As I mentioned before, it’s full of great illustrations that bring the Gospel to life in helpful ways. Having said that, I want to share one final illustration with you. It’s been on my mind a lot lately, and I couldn’t say it better myself.
As a preface to this excerpt, George is describing the spiritual apathy and complacency that defines the lives of so many Christians today. He then offers an analogy that articulates where this lukewarm-ness is coming from:
“The Christian world that we have fashioned reminds me of a real city in the desert–Las Vegas, Nevada. If you think about it, there isn’t any special reason for Las Vegas to even exist. But taking advantage of the legal gambling in Nevada, people have made that city a mecca for vacationers. As far as the world is concerned, they have built the flashiest, most exciting playground in America–right in the middle of the desert, in a place that no one would ever visit otherwise, let alone live. If your intention is to excite and gratify the flesh, Las Vegas is just about the most comfortable and entertaining place you can imagine.
Like a ‘spiritual Las Vegas,’ the Christian world has built ‘Tinseltown in the Desert.’ It looks pretty on the surface, but it’s nine miles wide and one inch deep. It’s flashy, it’s something exciting, and it will keep you occupied–for awhile. But every now and then, a small voice in our hearts begins asking, ‘Is this really what the Lord Jesus had in mind when He talked about an ‘abundant life?'”
What a challenging illustration! Have you found a way to distract yourself from the mediocrity of your faith? Do you keep yourself so busy that you don’t have to think about the areas of your life that are not surrendered to God? Is your Christianity a spiritual Las Vegas? I encourage you to go to God with these questions this week!
Great illustration. One of my main themes is that we settle for so much less than God wants to do in and through us. Thanks for the challenge.
Excellent. I have been thinking/struggling/praying/learning about this so much over the past few months. I think we really have NO CLUE what Jesus really meant by “abundant life” because we cheapen this gift and are cheating ourselves in the process.