I’ve heard of things ending up in strange places, but never as bizarre as this story which appeared in our local paper on Wednesday April 2. While swimming at Culburra Beach a woman took her false teeth, which were a little loose, out. She slipped them into the top of her swimming costume. This was fine, till a large wave crashed into her. Unfortunately she didn’t notice the false teeth had gone until much later.
Without her teeth, she was restricted to eating soft food. But then a week later, someone found her false teeth and handed them in to a nearby shop. The shop staff contacted the woman who had been holidaying in the area.
Sadly sometimes we are a bit like that – our faith seems to be without teeth. We’re not prepared to stand up for what we believe. We’re content to stick with soft mush rather than getting into the meat of God’s Word.
We don’t have that enthusiasm for Jesus and passion for telling others that we had when we first became Christians. Like the church at Laodicea we’re ’lukewarm,’ Revelation 3:15. Notice this church is the only church about which Jesus does not have anything positive to say. They are ‘wretched’ and ‘blind,’ Revelation 3:17.
Even the church at Ephesus who had ‘lost their first love’ and who Jesus commanded ‘to do the deeds you did at first’ is commended for their toil and perseverance, Revelation 2:2.
In ‘No Eye has Seen’ a book I read and reviewed recently, Matt, one of the characters admits to feeling ‘a bit jealous’ of his daughter’s new found faith. ‘I remember what it was like when I first became a Christian. I thought I’d found the ultimate treasure. I would gladly have given everything I owned back then to keep it. Money possessions, life itself meant nothing when compared to my relationship with God.’ Can you say that? Can I?
Although ‘No Eye has Seen’ is a work of fiction, fiction often mirrors the truth. I suspect there are any number of believers out there who could echo those thoughts. Your Christian life has the blahs. Or as Matt bemoans ‘Life has a funny way of changing your feelings and ideals though. You get caught up in the humdrum of existence, raising kids, work, a mortgage, and your priorities change somehow.’
So let me ask you, even as the Lord asked me: has your faith lost its teeth? Are you cruising along in the Christian life? Or maybe even at a standstill? Can you honestly say you have that same passion and enthusiasm for Jesus and the gospel that you once had? If not, what will you do about it?
Bible references from The New American Standard Version
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