One of the biggest fallacies I was taught was that as Christians our job is to always be trying to convert others to become Christians as well. The problem is I don’t see anywhere where this was modeled by Jesus. Sure, when He called His disciples, He told them to “Follow Me”. I don’t really think that was an evangelistic outreach however. If you disagree, try employing that same strategy at a local mall some Saturday. No, the way Jesus drew others into a relationship with Him was by loving them. He didn’t ask for anything in return. He loved us because that’s who He is. Jesus is love through and through. He cannot act otherwise. As His followers, this is how we should strive to live.
Faith
What Color is God?
In the forward to the book, “Free: Spending your time and money on what matters most”, Richard Rohr stated that “If you are a white middle class American, for example, and all your beliefs end up making God look like a white middle-class American, sharing all of your usual prejudices and illusions, I doubt whether you have met the Eternal God at all.” Those are bold words that I believe sum up a major problem with Christianity in the world today. We all tend to make God in our own image instead of allowing Him to conform us to His image. We all see Him as a product of our particular culture instead of seeking to become part of God’s culture. Until we get this turned around, we will never experience the life He created us to live.
Jesus Reveals What God is Like
What is your picture of God? Depending on how you were brought up, you probably view Him as anything from a deeply loving and compassionate Father to a strict disciplinarian who doesn’t tolerate any step outside of His direction. Some read the Old Testament and see God as overly controlling, jealous, and violent. They fear a God who might arbitrarily choose at any moment to strike them dead. These pictures of God have been perpetuated for years, and are a favorite ploy of Satan. If he can convince people that God is erratic and ultimately untrustworthy, he knows he can keep you far from God. He knows if you get too close you might actually discover the truth.
Leave the Details to God
A.W. Tozer once gave an illustration that demonstrated the faith we need to have in our Father God. He said, “To be unafraid when going on a journey with his father, the child need not be able to imagine events; he need but know the father! Jesus Christ is our all in all – we need but trust Him and He will take care of the rest.” We don’t always know where life is taking us. In fact, we rarely do. Our mission is to keep following in the footsteps of Christ. As long as we do that, we know we are on the right road because the right road is always the one on which we find Jesus.
Trust without Borders
I often listen to music as I drift to sleep at night. Recently I’ve been playing the song, “Oceans”, by Hillsong United. When I woke this morning, the lyrics were stuck in my head. In particular the line, “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders”, kept impressing itself upon me. I started to think about what that looks like in our lives. What would I do if my trust in God had no borders, no limits? It’s easy to confess our faith in God, particularly for those of us who grew up in the Church. It is much harder to proclaim your faith without putting any limitations on it whatsoever.