Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada, keeping the main thing the main thing.
And just what is the main thing? Well, it’s summed up beautifully in one simple Bible verse. The apostle Paul explains it right at the beginning of First Corinthians chapter 2. He says, "When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." There you go! Paul was very good at always keeping the main thing the main thing. Keep pointing to Jesus. Keep pointing people to what he did on the cross. My friend Corrie ten Boom was very good at doing this. Most of you know that Corrie was dragged off to a Nazi concentration camp with her family because they hid Jews in their home in Holland. Although she lost some of her family in that camp, Corrie kept her confidence in Jesus Christ. And when she was released from prison, she began a worldwide ministry of pointing people to Jesus. Always and always, she would tell them of what he did on the cross.
This remarkable woman lived to the age of 91, and when Ken and I attended Corrie ten Boom's funeral, we were amazed how simple it was; brief, not many flowers, very European. But, oh, how challenged we were as we listened to several pastors who knew Corrie well back in Europe that read excerpts from her books and recounted highlights from her ministry. And each one of them, without fail, talked about her love of Jesus. One pastor said that before she died, Corrie had instructed him to speak at her funeral about Jesus' love—not about Corrie ten Boom.
That was so like this amazing woman! Jesus was always at the center of her thoughts and words. She rarely spoke of "the Christian walk" or "the Christian experience." She didn't speak of Christ as though He were some creed, doctrine, or lifestyle. What's more, she didn't just say, "The Lord," as in "I love the Lord" or "The Lord told me this..." Or “I follow the Lord.” She always named Him. She said, "The Lord Jesus." She spoke about a Person –a Person she loved more than anyone else—and she was careful to always name Him with confidence and pride. Pride, you say? It's okay to boast in the Lord; for it says in first Corinthians chapter 1, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord".
As Ken and I left the graveside, he said, "How is it we get so caught up in explaining our walk in Christ or some spiritual experience, instead of simply talking about Him?" We need to keep the main thing the main thing. The love of God is the love of Jesus. Maybe you find yourself in the same situation. Perhaps you find yourself talking more about God in general and the Lord in general without naming the name of Christ. There is power in that name. His is the name that causes the rising and the falling of many, as was prophesied. And you can understand more about the name of Christ with an excellent little book I want to send you called “God’s Love.” It’s yours for the asking today when you go to my radio page at joniandfriends.org. God forbid we should reduce our Savior to a fine-print doctrine squeezed between the pages of a theology textbook. May the Lord wake us out of spiritual slumber if we catch ourselves making a big deal of how we believe in God rather than how we believe and follow Jesus. Just keep making the main thing the main thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
© Joni and Friends, 2013
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