When Charles Met Crae

It happened a couple of weekends ago at our dining room table. Even more rare than their coming together was the occasion in which prompted their meeting – a 2:30 brunch with our family of five. Below is a brief description of how these men from two very different genres found their way into our home.

Trying to be intentional with our kiddos, my wife and I decided to share a little devotional thought from the great Prince of Preachers himself, Mr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon. So I slowly read through a short text from one of his books and we chatted about the passage he was referencing in 2^nd Peter 1. As the heading suggested, the emphasis was for believers to make every effort to grow in their faith.

There were two main thoughts that facilitated really good discussion for us. One involved the idea of making God’s glory our object in life – in all things. We talked about what that might look like for each of us and considered ways that we could focus our attention on bringing a greater, grace-driven effort to each area. The second was tied to the idea of lukewarmness. And this is where our friend Lecrae entered the scene.

As I was turning to Revelation 3 to read Jesus’ words to the church of Laodicea about being lukewarm in their faith, my wife remembered the lyrics to a Lecrae song from a few albums back entitled, “New Reality.” By the time I finished reading verses 15 and 16, Brittany had the following hook and beginning of the 2^nd stanza ready to play.

“Most times I pay no attention, lose my direction, all I chase is vanity.

I forget I've been forgiven, your love I've been given,

Your grace shown me lavishly…

You were born on earth, on the cross you died for me,

Forgive my depravity… Lord you are my reality.

Well cold water we drink, hot water we cook…

But lukewarm does nothing, it just sits and it looks!”

Without proper focus and a prayerful pursuit of Christ, we are all dangerously prone to becoming lukewarm, which is absolutely good for nothing – not useful for the kingdom and of no particular value to us individually. Unfortunately, this type of “faith” will also drag us toward hesitancy and timidity. As Spurgeon notes, “Lukewarmness and doubting very naturally go hand in hand.” As crazy as it sounds, we can forget God’s gracious dealings with us. With this as a warning, why wouldn’t we make every effort?

By the time we concluded our talk, it was late into the afternoon, yet no one seemed to mind at all. It was a sweet time that we were able to share, as together we reminded each other of just how good and faithful our God has been to us. However, as lovely as our time was, I was just as excited about all that it represented. B and I worked as a team to bring understanding to our children. This is symbolic of the necessary community that one needs to grow and flourish. Making every effort means intentionally seeking accountability and partnership in the gospel and purposefully avoiding a faith lived in isolation.

Secondly, I loved the picture of Charles and Crae coming together. We have profited from both the written works of 19^th century preachers, as well as the hard-hitting lyrics penned by some hip-hop gospel rappers of today. For me, it symbolized the blending of that which we already knew with something we are learning afresh.

It also reminded me of all the various ways the Lord continuously works to grab our attention. For the past 2000 years plus, he has used faithful men and women to passionately proclaim the hope of the gospel. He has revealed Himself in a variety of forms and a myriad of different vehicles to deliver truth to our souls. Just think on that for a moment…all the ways He pursues our hearts!

Lastly, it was remarkable that God would be gracious to our family in that setting. Honestly, the faith talk stuff was just a late add on. The waffles and bacon, the scrambled eggs and coffee…that was our initial focus – that was our real priority! We really didn’t give the devo much thought ahead of time. Nevertheless, He decided to make it more than we had planned and the Lord allowed us to mutually encourage each other with fruitful and heartfelt dialogue - a gift that none of us deserved.

When we consider that God so personally orchestrates each of our days that we might know Him more deeply, there really is no other response than worship… Once aware of such grace, only a wholehearted pursuit of Christ seems acceptable… Might we see see His hand of favor - in the food we enjoy, the family memories we make, and in the friends that often show up when we least expect it. May we make every effort to make much of Him!