Walking With Christ

Isaiah 30:9-11  (9)For they are a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; (10)who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, (11)leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.“(ESV)

So many people are asleep.  Too many pastors tread lightly, afraid of disturbing the comfort people cling to.  A lot of people get offended when they hear the pastor say something that goes against how they live their lives or view the world.  So many people read the bible looking only for comfort or confirmation that they are doing the right thing.  It’s easy to misinterpret the bible to say what you want when the verses are cherry-picked and taken out of context.

The bible can be uplifting and provide comfort in nearly any situation, but if you are reading it right it will also just as easily slap you in the face and shake you until your eyes roll back in your head and your teeth rattle.  It is shocking.  It is offensive.  It’s violent.  It’s messy.  It’s full of every conceivable horrible thing that humanity has done.  It will challenge every conception we have of life and how things are supposed to work.  The bible is both a refuge and a refining fire.  If you read it honestly, it will not only comfort but also challenge and transform you.  Studying the bible, actually studying and not just skimming to find support for our current way of thinking, might force us to change our beliefs, behaviors, or priorities.  It’s much easier to believe in a god (little g) who aligns with our lifestyles than to wrestle with the real God of scripture.  If we refuse to wrestle with God, we don’t actually serve Him—we serve a god of our own making, one that never challenges us, never convicts us, and never demands transformation.  That is not God.  That is self-worship.

Looking deeper into what the bible actually teaches and trying to understand the context required may cause some to realize that what they’ve been taught is wrong.  Some people don’t want to admit that they’ve spent years believing a version of Christianity that might be shallow, self-centered, self-serving, or incomplete.  Looking too close requires accepting hard truths that are readily available in the bible.  A true study of the bible forces people to confront things like God’s holiness, human depravity, judgement, and suffering.  This is a problem for some people because they want a god (again, little g) they can control.  A shallow reading allows people to cherry-pick comforting verses while ignoring the ones that demand something of them.  A deeper study reveals a God who is bigger, wilder, and more sovereign than they imagined—and that scares them.

The challenge, when sharing the gospel, is picking the right approach that is loving and truthful without it being alienating.  Some people, like me, need blunt truth, others need gentle guidance.  Jesus met people where they were—sometimes with sharp rebuke (Pharisees), other times with compassion (woman at the well).  The broad spectrum of ways to speak truth and life to someone is a thing that has to be Holy Spirit driven.  Any message that I try to send on my own is going to fall flat unless God chooses to use the message for His purpose.  Any message that is truly inspired by the Holy Spirit is guaranteed to find the right person when the time is right.

I’ve said it before and will say it again, this is my journey and my testimony.  I can’t share my entire testimony here because much of it is not meant for others.  A lot of this series is just my own stream of consciousness processing the things I see and learn.  This is my own attempt to understand the God I serve and sharing my walk in the hopes that it helps another on their path to know that they are not alone.

The bible is not a written record of the things that people have done wrong.  The entire bible is example after example of how God works despite our best efforts.  When you take yourself out of the story and begin to look at it as a love letter to humanity, the entire book takes on new meaning.  When you accept that you are not the hero of this story, you begin to ask the right questions.  Why would God still love me after all of the things I’ve done?  Why would He give me another chance after the countless failed attempts in my past?  How can I possibly be redeemed for the things I’ve done?

There are plenty of other great questions that one can ask after reading the bible knowing that they are not the hero of the story.  Most of the answers can be summed up with this:  God is good, He is worthy, He is love, He says we are worthy, and because He loves us.  If reading the bible causes questions to pop up then ask those questions.  Find answers.  Looking for that answer should cause more questions.  A real study of scripture never truly ends—because God is infinite, His wisdom is limitless, and His truth continues to unfold.  The question is:  Are you willing to wrestle with Him to find it, and are you willing to let Him change you?