Walking With Christ

There is a valuable misconception that only makes sense once you are a Christian. This one thing, in my opinion, has built more walls between the people and the kingdom than anything else.

Genesis 2:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”(ESV)

I’ve been a Christian for most of my life so this verse almost always just made sense to me. It was also the very thing that ultimately drove me to walk away from the church.

Someone asks you where you get your answers as a Christian. You tell them that nearly all of the answers are in the bible. They get a bible and start reading. Where do you start to read a book? Right in the middle, like any normal person? No, at the beginning. Genesis pretty quickly explains creation and be origins of man. If they understand anything about reading and words, I’m sure they will have questions. Any non-Christian who looks at this particular verse is going to want to see what God looks like. Since we are made in the image of God, they will look in the mirror or look at other people. Trying to understand the face of God by looking in the mirror is a bit like trying to paint a self-portrait by using a funhouse mirror while blindfolded. More than likely you’ll stay in the dark, but in the off chance that you do actually see something, what you see will be so blurred that it could never be connected to the original by normal means.

1. Very few Christians become Christians on their own.
a. Most Christians eventually become Christians because of the seeds planted by the holy spirit and other Christians.
2. A new Christian without a mentor is in trouble.
a. Even if a new Christian finds a church with a great message, they will be in serious trouble if they do not have someone to trust with serious spiritual questions.
b. If the church fails to help a new Christian find a worthy mentor then that church is failing to build the relationships that will lead to future fruit.
3. Nearly every part of the bible can be read out of context.
a. The bible is not a straight forward guide for how to be a Christian. If anything, it’s a really long story about how God works in and through us despite us.
b. Many parts of the bible, if taken out of context, are impossible to understand and can, in fact, be quite dangerous to, not only, the new believer but other believers as well.
c. A mentor can help to show us how to read and interpret the bible. Not every reader understands that there are parts of the bible that are directed at specific individuals or groups and not intended for larger audiences even if the principles can still apply.

The process of understanding who our Father is has two parts. The first is where we try to understand ourselves and the world we live in by studying ourselves and the world we live in. The distorted image of this world can lead to chaos and confusion. The only way to truly fix that is by moving on to the second part of understanding our Father. The second part is to look at the world using the knowledge we have about how the Father sees the world. We use the Mosaic laws and the bible to learn His ways and then we find His truth. Through the twisted lens of our own truth, truth is subjective and open to interpretation. Through His lens of truth, there is an absolute truth that does not change from one person to another. It does not change from one situation to another. It is not subjective.

We can only learn so much from studying ourselves. The biases we gain over time through our experiences will skew the path and cause us to get lost. At some point, we have to start applying what we know of our Father to our understanding of ourselves. Then we will see ourselves as He sees us. We will see others as He sees them. We will then begin to treat each other as Christ commanded and truly start to show the love Jesus had for the church.

Father,
We thank You for being the steadfast and steady source of truth. We thank You for Your never changing nature that we can rely on to guide us through this chaotic world. We know that it is only through relying on You as that source of truth that we can be sure that we are on the right path. Let us go where You lead, Lord. Let us wait where You wait. Let us rest in the assurance that You are in control. Let us grow beyond the stage where the enemy can take advantage of us simply by influencing our perceptions of ourselves and others. Give us Your eyes for the world and let us show the world Your love through Your heart for the world. Give us clean hearts that beat only for You. Give us eyes that see the world as You see the world. Give us hands that only do good works for Your kingdom and Your glory. Give us feet that only travel where You lead but are always ready to go where You might send us. Give us tongues that speak only Your truth because that is the only truth that matters. Give us ears that hear Your word so that we can answer Your call. Continue to clear our vision so that we may see You clearly, Lord.

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.