TIMELESS TRUTH

If you had asked a knowledgeable stock broker back in 1968, “What nation will dominate the world in watch making for the next fifty years?”, the immediate answer would have been, “Why, Switzerland, of course!” Swiss watch makers had been dominating this industry for the previous sixty years, and there was no reason to believe that they wouldn’t continue to dominate for the next sixty as well. With their excellent craftsmanship, constant refinement of their expertise, and superior manufacturing techniques, they had cornered the market by 1968, commanding a total share of, “65% of all watches sold, and as much as 90% of the profits. “By 1980, however, they had laid off thousands of watch-makers and controlled less than 10 percent of the world market… Why? The Swiss had refused to consider a new development—the Quartz movement… Because it had no main-spring or knob, it was rejected. It was too much of a paradigm shift for them to embrace. (White 20)” 

This of course, is a profound lesson for business owners everywhere, but it is also a powerful lesson for the followers of Christ to understand as well. It teaches us that, past spiritual victories, previous experiences of stepping out in faith, and early movements of the Holy Spirit within a body of believers, can be tragically negated by an over-dependence on formulas that worked in the past, and an insensitivity to God’s leading for the future. As in business, Christians can become blinded “…to the importance of seeing the implications of the changing world and to admit that past accomplishment is no guarantee of future success. (White 20)” In one sense, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is as never changing and immutable as Jesus Himself who, “…is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (NKJV Heb 13:8)” The methods by which we can effectively share that truth, are constantly changing as the world changes around us, but the truth about who we are in Christ never changes, it is timeless! 

Fast-forward to the present: While it is true, that due to the short-sightedness of our Swiss watch making friends in the past, they have never regained the edge they once enjoyed in the world markets, but one thing remains; because of their uncompromising standards of perfection, Swiss watches are without a doubt, one of the finest watches ever made, and are a considerable treasure to anyone blessed to own one! This teaches the church yet another valuable lesson; that there is no substitute for the uncompromising path of Christian Discipleship given to us by our Lord Jesus. The church is talking a lot these days about paradigm shifts and new methods of sharing the Gospel, and that is fine, but ultimately, the old truths still remain, that as followers of Jesus Christ, we must change and, “Become someone else… [but first we must] examine just how far we are willing to go… (Hull 117)”, if we are to become true disciples of Christ!

Incumbent upon every believer today, is the need to identify and rectify the lukewarm state of, finding one’s own comfort level and becoming satisfied with it. God has so much more for us than we can even realize in our carnal minds, and it is a solemn tragedy when we allow this inferior estimation of God's potential to use us, to guide our decision-making processes. Jesus, as always, is our great example of the fact that, “…if you want to become something you have never been before, you will need to do things you have never done before… When God became a person, he took the definitive action of emptying himself of rights and privileges in order to serve and live for others. (Hull 120)”, and we must follow this example by emptying ourselves for the sake of others. 

Jesus spoke of this needed change over and over again as He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? (Luke 9:23-25)” As painful as it sounds, there is no substitute for this crucial command of Christ. Are you willing to not only change your life, and go further than you ever thought you could? Fine, but that's still not good enough! Christ demands that we go all the way, and give up our life completely! What I feel is true for me and probably true for most Christians, is that, we don’t know what we have within ourselves, until we give ourselves away by, stepping up to the plate, acting out in faith, and obeying God completely. Most of the time, we run around so scared that we’re going to say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or offend someone, that we never take the bold steps of faith that are necessary to prove just who we are in Christ, and how He wants to use us for the furtherance of His Kingdom. 

We all want to do more for the Lord to be sure, but to do more, we have to become less, and the ‘old man’ doesn’t like that very much! It has been pointed out that, “Becoming less takes a toll. …It did for Jesus, and it will for us as well. Because of that, most young Christians do not willingly choose it. Achieving less can be more, but this doesn’t naturally occur to us, particularly when we are young. (Hull 127)” That is because our carnal flesh wants our name to go up in lights and to be recognized as a great spiritual giant, rather than to fade into the background noise, and allow Jesus’ name to be glorified and exalted. That is why Jesus rebuked Peter so severely by saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. (Mat 16:23)” Pretty harsh words, but it is exactly the kind of rebuke that our sinful flesh needs to hear! 

In the final analysis, Christian discipleship is, “…about helping people see that Christ is the treasure, and selling everything to get him is the wisest choice anyone can make. (Hull 132)” Of course, this comes from the parables that Jesus Himself told about the kingdom of God being, “…like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. …like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Mat 13:44-46)” What a treasure the Lord Jesus is! I just pray that in my own life, I can become more of an example to others, of what it means to sell all, in order to gain that greatest of all treasures! That doesn't exactly corner the market on modern evangelism techniques, but it is a timeless truth of great worth!

By Pastor Glen Mustian

Works Cited:

Holy Bible. New King James Version. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN. Print. 2001.

Hull, Bill. The Christian Leader. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. Kindle Edition. 2016. 

White, James. Rethinking The Church. Baker Books. Ada, MI. Print. 1998.