Christianity

If we say we are a Christian and believe that God’s Word is inspired and infallible (For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  Hebrews 4:12) then there are some of truths that we need to face.

I have just finished reading Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s book Lies Women Believe.  But wait! Before you say “I am not a woman so this doesn’t affect me”, listen to a few of these truths that she brings to light that affect every Christian, no matter if you are a man or woman, young or old–

1.  God is good (Psalm 119:68) . This is so easy to believe when the sun is shining and everything is going our way. But when the clouds come and life is hard, this is still true. It is so important to remember this at all times.

2. My past does not have to plague me (I Corinthians 6: 9-11). We are new creatures. We are not a victim of our “yesterday”. Yes, we need to suffer with the consequences of some of our choices. But the good news is that we can make good choices today. We can live for Jesus today. We can react and respond in a way that pleases God. We can’t go back and change how we were treated as a child or make a different decision. But we can choose to forgive today. We can make the right choice today.

“The Truth is that our past-our upbringing, the ways we have been wronged, and the ways we have wronged others-these things do not have to be hindrances.  In fact, by God’s grace, they can actually become stepping stones to greater victory and fruitfulness.” p. 258

3. I can do anything God asks of me, through the power of the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:23-24). As Nancy puts it on p. 259 There is no one we cannot forgive. There is no one we cannot love. We can give thanks in all things. We can be content in every circumstance. Those are pretty convicting words, aren’t they? Because it means that if I am struggling with any of those things, it has been my choice to struggle. I have chosen not to forgive. I have chosen to live a life of complaining, instead of the better way of gratitude.  God has provided the Holy Spirit to comfort and strengthen us. Why are we struggling so hard to live on our own power?

4. I will reap what I sow (Galatians 6:7-8). In this day of “instant everything”, we have a hard time thinking past the present moment. We fail to reflect on what consequences the choices we make today will have on our lives– and on the lives of those we love–tomorrow, or a week from now, or 5 years from now. Sometimes we focus on only the big “life” choices (who we marry, our careers, etc), but every choice we make–from failing to eat correctly to what entertainment we choose to spend our time on to the friends we choose to hang with–all have consequences.

5. The pathway to true joy is to relinquish control (I Peter 5:7) Oh, this is a tough one.  Especially for mothers! But how true. We can only control one thing. Ourselves. We can control our responses and reactions. We can control what we say and what we think. But we need to put the rest into God’s hands and rest in Him. Sometimes I find myself relinquishing control of the same situation multiple times a day. For some reason, I keep going back and picking up the burden!

6. Personal holiness is more important than temporal happiness (Ephesians 5:26-27).  This certainly flies in the face of a culture that says personal fulfillment is the ultimate goal, doesn’t it? My happiness is not all that important. God wants to mold and shape me into the likeness of His son. As I grow older, I should be more like Jesus. Does this mean I will be happy? Not necessarily by the world’s standards, although I will have more of the real joy and peace that comes when we follow Christ whole-heartedly. Happiness-that feeling that is so temporal and relies on shallow, external circumstances– is over-rated, anyway.

Those are just a few of the truths that challenged me when reading Nancy’s book. I know most of you will never read the book and so, I thought it might be helpful and challenging to highlight a few of these truths.

The other day, one of my kids asked me how I know this Christian stuff is real. And, while I don’t espouse relying on experience to prove my faith, it is amazing how, as we get older, we have seen God work in our hearts and lives, so that we can’t help but remember the marvelous ways He has worked through many of the truths listed above and dramatically brought about forgiveness in our hearts, or changed our thought processes, so that we knew that it was not us but the Holy Spirit working through us. God IS real. I feel humbled and blessed to be part of His family.

There was once a young man. We will call him Jack. Jack had a job. He needed to deliver a letter to the old man who lived at the top of the mountain. No one had ever climbed the mountain before. He wasn’t even sure the old man was there. Years before the old man had started to climb the mountain and that was the last anybody had heard of him.

Jack decided the easiest way to reach the top of this mountain would be to fly there. So he talked to Hampton, the only man who owned a helicopter for miles around. It was a beautiful day when Jack and Hampton climbed into the big whirlybird and took off for the far away mountain. But the strangest thing happened. As they neared the mountain, it was covered in clouds. Not just any clouds, either. These were thick, gray clouds. Clouds that covered the top of the mountain like an opaque blanket. Hampton was puzzled. It was a beautiful day. This didn’t make sense. We will return on another day, he said. The clouds can’t remain forever. So they returned the next day. And the next. They continued to try for two weeks. No matter what the weather was when they left, the clouds would always be covering the mountain when they flew over it. Jack decided that flying was not going to work.

The next option was taking a mule with a pack. It wouldn’t be easy. But that was really the only other option. He bought himself a good, sturdy mule and started out. He did fine. Until it started raining. It rained and rained. Deep gullies started to form. The mule lost his footing.  He went tumbling down over the cliff. Jack grabbed a branch and hung on for dear life–until slowly he was able to  inch his way forward to safety.

At this point, walking was his only option. He looked down at the cuts and bruises on his body. He was in some pain. But he decided to continue his journey. He did make it about halfway. At that point, wild creatures started appearing. There were venomous snakes. And huge, brown bears. And wild, frightful wolves. He contemplated turning around. But he knew this letter was a matter of life and death. He had to deliver it. He continued.

He thought he was making progress. Until he came to the crevice. A wide, wide crevice that surrounded the entire mountain top. There would be no way to cross it without losing his life. Dejectedly, he turned around.  There must be a way to reach the old man. But he couldn’t figure out what it was. He headed back down the mountain.

When he reached the bottom of the mountain, much to his surprise, the old man was waiting for him. The old man had heard about the letter, knew the one and only way down the mountain, and had come to meet him, so that Jack would be spared the dangerous trip up the mountain.

So what is the purpose of this story? I hear so many cries of “all roads lead to heaven”, “all religions are the same”, “you take your way to God, and I will take mine”. But did you realize that all world religions–except for Christianity–are like Jack trying to climb that mountain? There are things you must do in order to reach God. And yet, nothing we do makes it possible to reach God. We can do all the good in the world and still never reach Him. (Romans 3:23). Anytime you must DO something in order to reach God, it is a false religion. We can’t reach God. But the good news is that He has come to us by sending us His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). I can’t do anything righteous in His sight (Isaiah 64:6).

You see, Christianity is the only world religion where God came down the mountain to us. Not to receive something from us. But to give something to us. Salvation. A free gift.

But what about all of those rules Christianity has? You see, there is great confusion about the holy lives genuine Christians seek to lead. I John 2:3&4 says “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

A life honoring to God is the proof that we know Him. Not the requirement.

I do not look at my life like I am living a life of rules and regulations. I do not think I am missing out on the “good stuff”. I am so grateful to my Heavenly Father for sending His son to take on my sins so that I can stand righteous before God that I surrender my life and my will to His. At least that is the goal of every true believer. We are still human and we do still make lots of mistakes. But we are doing our best to live a life to please God because we love Him. It is the natural outcome of the praise and thanks in our hearts toward the God who has saved us from eternal damnation.

So, all roads do lead to the same place. All roads EXCEPT for Christianity. Christianity is not the same as all other religions. It is entirely different. You can be doing all you know to do to reach God, by doing good deeds, reciting whatever it is your religion requires you to recite, by proselytizing, by praying to the saints, or whatever else your religion “requires”. But God has already made a way. By sending His son to die on a cross and take on the sins of the world. By rising again in glorious splendor to show that there is power over death!

Elisabeth Elliot and her brother-in-law were having a discussion about what the most valuable quality is for a missionary.  One thought it was humility and one thought it was flexibility.  As they discussed further, they came to the conclusion that it really all comes down to the same thing.

“A missionary must be humble enough to be flexible.  Nowadays young candidates are often so highly trained they feel overqualified for the jobs that need to be done.  Most mission stations are in need of people who are willing to do anything that needs doing.  It is fine to offer oneself for service, but the form of service must not be too narrowly defined.  It is to minister to, not to be ministered to, that we are sent.” Discipline, The Glad Surrender p. 88-89

But, you say, I am NOT a missionary, nor will I ever be a missionary.  Let’s think for a moment.  Don’t we ALL feel overqualified for some of the tasks we have to do sometimes?   How have we defined the service we offer our families?  Our churches?  Our friends?  Do we have a narrow definition of what we are willing to do for them?   Yes, I will meet you for coffee, but no, I will not have you and your family over for dinner.  Yes, I will sing up front in the worship service, but I will not serve in the kitchen.   Yes, I will cook your meals and do your laundry, but don’t ask me to _______________…you fill in the blank.  Most of us have placed boundaries on how much we are willing to serve.  Don’t ask me to do that menial task.  We have our rights, too…our life to live.  Don’t ask me to re-do my schedule for you.  Who do you think you are, anyway?  And yet…

We see Jesus’s example of being a humble servant.  Matthew 14:13-14 says “When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.”

We all know how that feels, don’t we?    We are just sitting down with a nice cup of coffee and then a child yells for our help…or the phone rings…or our spouses want to talk…or the dog throws up.  It is in those moments that the rubber meets the road and we find of what stuff we are made.  We see that Jesus “had compassion for them”.

I wish I could say that I am moved by “compassion”.  More often I am moved by Leslie’s desires.  Yep, my own selfish agenda.  So when something gets in the way of my nice little agenda, I am not moved with compassion, I am moved with anger and frustration.

In those occasional moments when we can glimpse eternity and make the right choice of serving others selflessly…it is in that moment that we realize one of the greatest gifts in serving Jesus…the joy of serving others.  If we can respond correctly and have the right heart attitude, we are truly blessed by doing even the most menial tasks.