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As I reflect on my life I see that I have had some tough times, but all in all it’s been really comfortable, especially as a Christian. All the pages of history show us that to be a Christian is really a hard road to go down. They were persecuted, tortured, and even killed for their faith. Thank God none of us have to experience that today, at least not here in America.
I wonder what our forefathers would think of our comfortable lives we live today? Would they think our faith has turned into selfish religion? Past saints would probably not be able to understand what we have turned Christianity into.
Many are growing tired of the me-centered religion and are trying to live a more selfless life style focused more on others. There is a trend where people are starting to look at their faith and what it really means to be a Christ follower and how that plays out in our day-to-day lives. Some are finding out that living in the rat race and all the materialism that goes along with it is not all what it is cracked up to be. They are starting to give more, more of their time, more of their money, and more of their love to others. They are starting to realize that a tight community is more important than isolating themselves in their nice manicured suburbs. They are trying to break through and be real with others and their selves in a way that they never have before.
This movement is starting in the 20 to 30’s year olds. Many in this age group are starting to reject apathy and not just by the same old way that our parents did by doing charity work. Often times the charity work we Americans do is self-centered a good old pat on the back, “look at what I did for this person” and then going back to your normal life of forgetting about the poor and the oppressed for a while.
The people that are starting this movement realize that they must totally change the way they live. To be outwardly focused instead of inwardly focused is a daily commitment to Jesus teachings and asking Him to see the world as He sees it. It is putting others before yourself.
It’s opening our eyes to the world we live in. It will take a long time to eradicate the sex trafficking of young children, or help those in Haiti. But we are called to help in these areas if we can. The Christian life should be all about getting out of our comfort zones, the Christian life should be hard and willing to go the extra mile. Does this mean you need to pack up and move to Zambia? No, you just need to listen to what God is telling to do and then do it.
God gives us tons of opportunities to serve Him while helping those around us. Is there an elderly lady that needs her grass cut this summer? How about volunteering some of your time to mentor a child? There are lots of needs right in your community all you have to do is look for opportunities.
These things push us into being uncomfortable. You may ask what does being uncomfortable have to do with being a Christian. Comfort is all about us. By doing things that make us uncomfortable for the Lord, it pushes us to think less about us. The result we are becoming more like a true Christ follower, we are starting to see the world through Christ eyes.
How different would we look if we starting embracing uncomfortable and sacrifice. Getting rid of the good life! Everyday we should seek out ways to be more like Christ and have a desire to take on His characteristics concerning the world we live in.
Those of us that long for God and take our spiritual life very seriously always experience periods of spiritual darkness and loneliness. Is it just part of the spiritual quest for Christians?
Sometimes we may feel overwhelmed with God’s grace and kindness. Other times we may feel distant from God. We know this happens to all Christians from time to time and Saint John calls these times the “dark night of the soul”. At times our “night” seems darker and deeper than others, why is that?
Could the “dark night” just be a reminder that we are spiritually incompetent and in constant need of a Redeemer? What are our thoughts?
Here is a Sobering quote that I ran across the other day. “Only one thing haunts me more than the sins of my past: What sins am I blind to today?” Philip Yancey A quote like this will make you stop and think for a minute. Any comments on this?
Have you ever thought to yourself, man if I could only change the way that person views life. I think that person is so off base in their beliefs. I just wish they could see what I see. But if you stop and think about it what makes us right – how are we so sure that we are right and someone else is wrong?
James Sire the author of “The universe next door” gives one of the best definitions of what exactly is a worldview. “A worldview is a set of presuppositions, (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic make-up of the world.”
Until just a few years ago I was under the false pretense that if you did not view life exactly the way I did you were wrong in your thinking. A lot of this had to do with being immature I know, but I also believe a lot had to do with my lack of understanding of God’s worldview in the Bible. I, like many people, just took for granted that what people told me was pretty much the truth, especially if it were a pastor. But what if they made a mistake, what if they were miss guided by someone?
Most people’s worldview is not something that they have thought out and wrestled with on their own, rather it is something they have accumulated over the years. Our view of the world is shaped by our parents, the culture in which we live , our religious traditions or lack of, the type of education we received, the media, and much more. All these things influence our thinking and how we view the world and our place in it and the sad thing is we don’t even realize that these things influence us. I heard it stated like this once, “ we learn more than we create; we accept more than we reject. So concisely we do not formulate our on worldviews, we simply regurgitate what we have already been taught.
This to me is very sad, because if this is true then very few people are able to rise above their cultural prejudices, or the cultural norms of society. We may like to believe that we are free thinkers independent of the influences around us, but were not. If you think about it, it is quite frightening how many incorrect assumptions we have adopted as our own. For many they are quite contented not to dig deeper or try to think more independently. We like to believe that our worldview is correct. And if we are challenged with another person’s worldview that does not line up with ours we usually get defensive about it. Instead of taking the time and ask questions and wrestle with their answers we throw condemnation their way.
Just recently though, I started welcoming other peoples worldview not as my own, but to better understand people who hold different views of the world, so that I can engage them in intelligent dialogue. I also started going to the scriptures to see if what they are telling me lines up with scripture. As well, I am seeing if what I believe is lining up with the scriptures. I find myself letting go of those once sacred cows, I once held so tightly to. I am now asking God to make my worldview more like his, more open and not so closed-minded.
Lord, I pray that my way of viewing the world (in all that entails, my beliefs, my views on other dominations, the way I treat others, and so on) would be more like yours.
From time to time I need something to really grab my attention, to get me back on track. I was lucky enough this past weekend to experience one of those great Ahhh moments, when I went to an Acts 29 conference. An Acts 29 conference is where a couple thousand pastors and others that have an interest in rebuilding the church for God’s kingdom – come together to here some terrific speakers talk about theology and the church. Neither of which is what made me experience the Ahhh moment. Instead, it was the underlining theme to make preaching once again Christ centered, instead of this self-help crap we hear some much in our pulpits.
This got me to thinking whether or not I’ve really been centering my life on Christ, or have I been trying to make Christ fit around my life? If I’m honest with myself it has been the later for some while now. But to be a Christian, a Christ follower, I need to make my life revolve around the teaching and life of Christ. I am a fool, because I now when I have done this in the past, my life seems to go a lot better. I don’t seem so overwhelmed with life in general, but it is easy to get off track, isn’t it? I’m sure I will veer off course sometime in the near future. Although for now I have a new fervor for my Savior and I am taking steps to help keep it around a bit longer than usual.
· Reading my Bible 1st thing in the morning
· Praying right after my Bible reading
· Doing an in depth study on 1 Timothy
· Trying to look at people & things with the eyes of Christ
I know this is like a schedule. But we’ve got to start somewhere, until the heart desires more than anything to follow after – no viciously pressure Christ and His teachings. Then once we have the heart felt desire we do it out of love, we do it because we truly want to be more like Christ! I thank God that in my older years I have experienced more up times in my relationship with Him than the down times. I believe it is partly to do with all those years of following Him and with each attempt to follow Christ more closely – it seems to become more natural.
