“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.”

Psalms 18:30

MINIMUM DAILY REQUIREMENT

By Jay H. Graham

From the Chapel Glen Church of Christ Bulletin

The phrase “minimum daily requirement” is a method of the health community measuring whatever amount of nutrients our bodies need to survive. It often refers to the smallest amount of sugar, calories, vitamins, etc. that our bodies need to ingest in order to be healthy. As I was considering the MDR list on a package of food recently I considered what our MDR to be a Christian was. I compared what I believe to be the minimum amount to what many in the religious community might consider the barest minimum to be a Christian was.

What would you say was the minimum that most religious people might consider essential? Perhaps it would include attending a religious service once a week, praying at meals, doing a good deed, and not committing a “really bad sin”.

As I considered the question, I came to the conclusion that there is a minimum daily requirement in order to be a Christian, but it might surprise you. What does one do to achieve this goal? How many times would they attend the meeting of the saints? How much Bible would they read and study? How many good works should they perform? How many times should they resist sin? These questions are truly absurd, for what does God expect from us? He expects everything!

Rom. 12:1 sums up what I believe the minimum daily require ment to be a Christian is. God desires a “living sacrifice”. He expects nothing more, for what more can we give, and certainly nothing less. He does not want our time, money, or vehicles. He wants our lives. If He has our lives, He has everything that we have in this life including our time, money, vehicles, etc. He has everything that we are stewards of. Unfortunately, it is human nature for us to seek out the least possible way to achieve a goal, even a goal as vital as eternal life. Consider how often we seek the least possible allowance to accommodate a law of the land or sometimes the minimum daily requirement to please an employer. Consider the popular notion of attempting to step as close to sin as possible without stepping over the line. How many times has this lie of Satan trapped unsuspecting christians?

The point is that when we seek out the minimum daily require ment for being a christian we are truly seeking out damnation, for it is as if we want to give God only what He asks and keep the rest to ourselves. Consider some various passages and ask yourself-- “What is God demanding of me? Is He demanding part of my life or all of my life? How can I consider these verses in the light of a minimum requirement in order to please God?”

Romans 12:1-2 -- I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Matt. 16:24-25 -- Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Luke 16:13 -- "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Phil. 4:8-9 -- Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Let us not worry about the least we must do to serve and please our Lord. Let us keep the “MDR” philosophy on cereal boxes and not attempt to apply it to living the life of a Christian. Let us endeavor to give Him our entire lives to His service, for in so doing, we will give Him the one thing that He asks and wants-- (Rom 12:1) “... a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” We should not be interested in how little we can give Him but in how much.