Sea Shells by the Sea Shore - Wednesday June 20, 2012
...holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. 2 Timothy 3:5
A sea shell is an external skeleton for a mollusk. The shell provides a home and protection from predators and its underwater environment. When the mollusk dies, the shell remains and sometimes gets washed up on the shore. Sea shells on the beach are evidence of life that once existed but is now gone. They once had life growing and thriving in them. But shells are relics of life-not life itself.
If we are not careful, this can be true of us as well. We can have the "outward" or external signs of life. We settle for religion, not relationship. The Apostle Paul writes the words, "...holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power" (2 Timothy 3:5). Paul is saying we can go through all of the motions of "religious activity" without having any "life" inside.
I call this "sea shell Christianity." If we have sea shell Christianity, our focus is on religious practice-not on pursuing relationship with Christ. Our focus is on looking good instead of being good. We live for the applause of the many. We establish our own standard of right living. We may then become rule-centered, moralistic, and judgmental towards those who do not follow our man-made rules. In doing these things, we shape an attractive appearance, but inside is only the echo of a life once lived.
This is why it is vital that we don't settle for religious motions. We must have true life, not "sea shell life." We are made for relationship and fellowship with God Himself! This is where life flourishes.
Submitted by:
Doug Brown
Lee's Summit Community Church
Lee's Summit, Missouri
One-Year Reading Plan:
1 Kings 22:1-53
Acts 13:16-41
Psalms 138:1-8
Proverbs 17:17-18
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