Melt Down The Saints

During the tenure of Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector of the British Isles in the 1600’s there was a severe shortage of silver for minting coins.  Cromwell ordered his advisors to scour the country, searching for sources of silver.  They came back to him with the report that no source could be found for silver other than what was used to make statues of the noted religious figures of the past, located in the cathedrals of the country.  Most would say they reached a dead end, but Cromwell reportedly said, “Good.  Let’s melt down the saints and put them into circulation!” 
Too often that illustration can be used to reflect what happens in the church.  Many “Christians” become staid in their faith, attend church occasionally, maybe even regularly, but do little else to reflect an active faith in Christ, to reflect following him.  They have become statues of a past they once knew, but now they do little good beyond occupying space at church on Sunday.  Maybe we need to melt down the saints and put them into circulation!
What does it take to melt your heart?  What does it take to make you give serious thought to the way you live, to the things you say, to the way you treat people, the service you provide to those with needs as you live out the Christian life?  I would hope for one thing the reflective time spent during the Lord’s Supper (communion) each week would be a time your heart is open to such influence.  As we each consider the sacrifice Jesus made, God in the flesh coming to make sacrifice for you and me, suffering and dying a criminal’s death, although he had done no wrong.  Can we really think about that and not be touched, not be moved to follow Christ, and obey? 
What does following Jesus and obeying him mean?  Part of the “melting” process involves study.  Becoming familiar with the teaching Jesus provided while on earth, learning what his authorized apostles taught about character traits, relationships, loving properly, etc.  There is no Vulcan mind-meld, we must take time and make effort to learn these things.  That is another reason we assemble with other “saints” each week, to study the apostle’s doctrine (Acts 2:42).  And we need reminded of these things regularly, it’s not a one-time seminar.  There are hundreds of ungodly things in our culture pushing their influence on us every day, being taught to us in schools, being insisted on by government, being modeled in movies and on TV, on social media, with the networks doing their best to make what’s wrong look right.  If we don’t counter that with at least a Sunday fellowship with other Christians, hearing God’s Word proclaimed, what are the chances we will not move away from God?
Are you, am I, just living life day to day without much thought about eternity, about the consequences of living apart from the grace of God?  Does seeing friends and family wander away from any association with the Lord impact you, enough to talk to them about it, to invite them to church?  Penn (of Penn and Teller magician fame) tells of a man offering him a Bible after a show.  Not pushy, just said he liked what Penn did, offered sincere words of appreciation, and said he thought Penn might like reading the Bible and understanding it’s message.  Penn said he is still an atheist, but truly appreciated the man’s effort.  He offered this paraphrased insight.  “How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about heaven and hell if you believe you have the pathway to heaven, and yet keep it to yourself?”   
The day-to-day grind of living life can make us apathetic at times, can become a routine that creates ad nauseam.  Let revival occur!  Allow God to renew your zest for living the life he wants. Not necessarily a rich, fun, healthy, smooth life.  Just one that is truly connected to the Lord and knows our real faith will be rewarded one day as we live for him and serve him, no matter the circumstances.  In other words, let’s melt down the saints and put them into circulation!
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