Image by jpellgen via Flickr
I don’t watch much TV, but I do occasionally watch Man vs. Wild and Survivorman. I’m simultaneously fascinated by their ingenuity, but haunted by my own inner question: Could I survive in the wild? I know I’d rather eat tree bark than a bug. But I can’t decide, if I had to choose only one, whether I’d rather have a knife, a pack of matches, a rope, or a container of water to survive.
When it comes to religion or Supreme Truth, it’s a jungle out there. In Christianity alone, there are so many theological debates that we’re often lost trying to navigate through many sets of God’s truths. We’re adrift on a sea of doctrines that seemingly don’t relate much to the life we’re living now on this earth.
So if I had to gel all of God’s truths and come away with only one, it would be the certainty that the power to change and improve our lives is available to us in partnership with God. You and I can become the optimized versions of ourselves that God designed.
The key word is partnership. Call it friendship, fellowship, union, or yoking with Jesus, the life of blessed well-being that God offers is accessible. That’s what entering the kingdom of heaven at hand, or “new life from above”, is about. Whether we live on Wall St. or Main St., on Easy St. or Skid Row, it’s about living a kingdom life that counts for something good in the here and now, and to carry that with us into the hereafter. Christian faith is the difference between full-on thriving and merely surviving.
Possibility
Perhaps you’ve heard that you’re a no-good sinner and will always be a no-good sinner. While the first part may be true, the second part is only rumor. The great thing about God’s vision for the world is that it offers three keys: hope, faith, and knowledge. Hope means possibility; faith means certainty. Once those two are “seen”, or realized, they become knowledge; and biblically, knowledge means experience.
For example, to “know” God means to experience God. Mary, when told she would bear the Christ-child, asked how it was possible since she had never “known” a man.
The great faith passage in Heb. 11 is about acting from possibility, behaving as if something were certain and true, and experiencing the anticipated outcome. With Christ’s guiding assistance, it’s possible for no-good sinners to become righteous and good, whole and complete, fulfilled and perfect (in Greek, teleois). Not flawless, simply free of the sinful nature’s domination. “Be therefore perfect [complete], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mat. 5:48)
The idea is to continually turn hopes into certainties into experienced outcomes, then discover new possibilities to start the cycle again in a living adventure with God. This is “walking” with Jesus, “growing in the Lord”, and the secret truth he shared with the world—secret in the sense of great intimacy.
“Then your Father, who sees what’s done in secret, will reward you” (Mat. 6:4, 6, 18) today, tomorrow, and all your immortal life with Him.
November 1, 2011 at 6:16 AM
a truly wonderful read … God Bless
November 1, 2011 at 1:00 PM
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
January 17, 2012 at 1:19 PM
I think that, for most, people, knowing how to start or where to begin is the hardest part. We’re mostly taught in churches and by “leaders” that, upon being “born again,” we’re suddenly new creatures, which is true but not in the way most people expect. I think most of us expect that, out of nowhere, we immediately are turned into people who know how to love–to be more Christlike. What seems to be missing is this: upon salvation, we do become new creatures, but we are new creatures in that we now have joined in partnership with Christ and become aware of the access and availability to His “way” or “kingdom.” We aren’t miraculously changed into perfectly loving people with no responsibility or even choice for consciously practicing, learning, and growing into a life of love. Just like children who grow and mature over time, we also have to grow and mature in Christ by our own practice and experience with God’s help. There is nothing instantaneous about this development, and it often seems slow or even futile. There is progress and seemingly regression, but we need to continue the practice and trust in God for the help and results. That’s what makes “disciples.”
January 17, 2012 at 1:40 PM
Thanks for your comment. You just gave me an idea for a future blog post about where to begin. 🙂