“Be half a Christian, and you shall have enough religion to make you miserable; be wholly a Christian and your joy shall be full.” – Charles Spurgeon
Charles Spurgeon was called the “Prince of Preachers.” These gifts were on display every Sunday in London over an impressive 38-year career in the pulpit. Among the many nuggets of wisdom that he left us with is the quote above. Here are a couple reflections worth pondering.
First, if you’ve got one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God, then where will you find true joy? The part of you that’s serving the world will be miserable in the presence of God while the part of you that’s serving God will be miserable in the world. Perhaps the hardest temptation here is the belief that we can successfully serve two masters. But this is a trap of overconfidence and control. Having spent many years in this trap myself, might I suggest the following: instead of only asking God to bless an action you were going to take anyway, consider asking him to use you to fulfill his purposes. In other words, acknowledge that he has control and then see what adventures the Holy Spirit has for your life.
Second, consider what half of the Christian story might mean. Perhaps it’s the half that talks about a creator of the universe and the architect of the moral law. In isolation, these are great and wonderful things. But if you only had this part of the story, you’d be miserable. We need the good news about forgiveness too because moral perfection is not in our grasp. In other words, we don’t just need moral values, we need someone with the power of true forgiveness. Jesus is the personification of this and the source of full joy.