Abandoning Christ

Author and speaker Frank Viola posted this on his blog:

If you ceased from being a Christian today…HOW [sic] would your life begin to be different?…[T]his is a penetrating and searching question that every believer should ask themselves.

I cannot begin to tell you how many ways that question is  invalid.  A biblical answer could certainly be given: unrepentant (Hebrews 6:6), worse off than when believing (2 Peter 2:20-21), etc., but why would any believer ask himself that question?  One respondent, Chuck, asked that very thing to which Viola responded:

Chuck, for one thing, the question shows each of us what we have laid down for the Lord Jesus Christ (harkening [sic] back to His words on “losing your life for my sake.”)  And it’s also somewhat of a reflective internal “checking one’s vital signs” on one’s transformation, which isn’t a bad thing to do from time to time.

I cannot speak for Chuck, but it only makes matters worse.  My impression has always been that believers forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus.  But maybe that is just my wishful thinking.