How can I make a difference?

P. 2 of Randy Kilgore interview

Over the next three days, we are privileged to interview Randy Kilgore, the author of Made to Matter, Devotions for Working Christians. (Part 2 of 3)

Not all of us are gifted with words or theological knowledge. How can we practically live out the words of Jesus in our everyday existence?

Maybe not, but the Bible teaches us that the Nebraska wheat farmer can know how to please God just as certainly as a pastor with a seminary degree.

First of all, it’s important to point out Jesus Himself stresses we can’t pay attention only to His words. He never came to replace the rest of God’s words to us, merely to breathe new life into them, to make them clearer to us.

There’s a wonderful moment after the Resurrection, when Jesus is with His disciples and Luke tells us Jesus “opened their eyes” to the meaning of the Scriptures. THAT’S what we mean when we say a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only magic decoder ring any Christian needs to live practically in the world God created.

Without that personal relationship with Christ, a person cannot understand any of the Bible’s wisdom; it’s just pithy prose that’s sporadically useful. WITH the “magic decoder ring”, WITH a personal relationship with Christ, all of Scripture’s truths are opened up to us. That’s why the disciples could be so dense about the things Jesus was saying even though they were living with Him: They had not yet understood and accepted Him as their Messiah, so they could not yet put the pieces together.

That truth is the chief reason I went back to seminary after years as a human resource manager. First, I wanted to get the pastor’s degree (M.Div.) so I could write to them in their language about the issues their working congregants face; and second, I wanted to teach workers that God expects them to have a DIRECT working knowledge of His Word, not one passed on by a pastor or filtered through a book. Any worker who isn’t engaged in a close reading of Scripture has no idea whether or not they’re pleasing God; any worker who is engaged in a close reading of Scripture knows with certainty what God wants of them and which paths to follow even when the decisions are complex and challenging.

It’s why God spends so much time telling us our primary duty to our children ISN’T provision, it’s teaching them about God. How many times does Scripture tell us providing for our families is important? Roughly four times if you stretch as hard as you can. How many times does Scripture tell us to teach our children about Him? More than sixty times even without stretching to look real hard. So what do you think is highest on God’s agenda for a working parent? (That’s not to say we shouldn’t work or shouldn’t provide for our families! We MUST do so, biblically speaking. But any time work, and even provision, trumps our spiritual training, we’ve lost God’s expectations of balance, and His approval.)

There’s that wonderful verse in Isaiah where God promises His word will not return without accomplishing its purpose. As we go about our daily lives the Holy Spirit “googles” the word of God we’ve stored in our brains by reading it, and calls it forward to impact our choices. However, the Holy Spirit will not “google” what isn’t there. Every worker who has cut themselves off from Bible reading has cut themselves off from God’s wisdom and truth, and they’re left to do “what’s best in their own eyes” and that phrase is always spit out in disdainful tones when its used in Scripture.

And here’s a troubling point: Surveyors, both secular and Christian, all point to their results, which show that they higher a person is in an organization or career, the less likely they are to read the Bible (or engage in other spiritual activities). Similarly, the higher the income or educational levels, the lower the likelihood of regular interaction with Scripture. This means our “leaders” are relying on their own wisdom instead of God’s.

Part 2 of 3.

Read the book review here.
Next week we’ll pose your questions to Kilgore. E-mail your question, “How can I make a difference….”. If we use your question, you’ll get a free copy of the Made to Matter book.