Facebook theology, part 1

I was on Facebook the other day and saw something shared by someone that I have seen before.  The message was this:

"God has seen you struggling with something.  God says it's over!  A blessing is coming your way.  If you believe in God, send/post this message on and please don't ignore it, you are being tested.  God is going to fix two big things tonight in your favor.  If you believe in God, drop everything and pass this on."

Wow!  What a message!  God not only knows I am struggling with one thing but He is going to fix two things…for me…tonight!

I'll confess that there is much I love about Facebook.  I love staying in touch with people near and far, friends from years ago and people I have only come to know recently.  I enjoy the somewhat random things people post that tickle my funny bone.  I enjoy sharing little bits about myself and my family.  And I enjoy the encouragement I find in unexpected places. 

The message above could be considered one of that type, as a message of encouragement, but unfortunately it is one of many messages floating around Facebook that may sound good but which is really empty and meaningless.

This kind of message is basically self-centered, and mostly about the person who wrote it and not really about God at all.  I am working on a sermon based on Ephesians 1:11-14, where Paul writes this in verses 13-14:

" In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

The writer of the Facebook message may mean well but God says something much more powerful in his word. 

He knows I struggle, because I am a sinner living in a fallen world.  He has sent the word of truth in his Son.  In his mercy he has sent a Savior, one in whom my salvation is guaranteed.  He has sealed me with his very Spirit. 

If I believe in God then message of salvation is the one I should drop everything for and share with others.   

And, as Paul notes, I should share it to the praise of his glory.  Amen!

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.