When
I was a freshman in college I realized that when circumstances were well, that
was when I spent time with the Lord less. I didn't need him then, I was able to hold my own. By God’s grace I had grown to hate
that thought of myself by then. But then I began to continuously pray for God
to do absolutely anything to me so that I will always have to depend on him. And I meant anything.
I read stories of how different people had been paralyzed and had been
stricken with illness but only trusted God the more. I wanted that unshaken
faith. That faith which lives in this world solely for God’s glory but knows
that this world is not all there is. Illnesses did not frighten me. I assured
myself that anything to bring me to a humble state would only glorify the Lord
tremendously.
Years later, I found myself reading a story of a woman who prayed
the same prayer centuries ago and was stricken with a deadly illness which left
her nearly dead on her bed day by day. It did not scare me at first, but I
began to realize the severity of the prayer I had been praying. “Is this what I
want?, umm, God might really answer it,” I told myself.
My prayer has changed a
little from those days. Heartbreaks are part of this world because of the fall.
I want to live a blessed life all the time! But trials are going to come. God
should not keep all of them away from me if he loves and wants me to become
like Christ. My suffering in any aspect is my fellowship (identification) with
Christ and his gospel (Philippians 1:29). My prayer is now: “Lord, have your
way with me and in me, but give me the joy and strength to endure and persevere
through anything.”
And there is a joy in the midst of every suffering. It is
always hard to see from the outside because every suffering is VERY real, but
if we could see it the way God saw Joseph sold into slavery by his own brothers, Moses abandoned in
a basket on the Nile, and the way God saw Christ on the cross, we could see
what it leads to. At the end of the day, at the end of anything that happens while
I am here on this earth, I’d rather have fellowship with God, the Maker of the
heavens and earth. That trumps everything! Oswald Chambers writes, “If through
a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, then thank Him
for breaking your heart.”
Kingsley
One common Christian bumper-sticker expression says: "It's not about religion, it's about a relationship with God." Also, another popularized phrase printed on shirts states: "Jesus > Religion." I recognize the understanding in which those expressions came forth. I think they are good. I do think that followers of Christ are called Christians because they are in a loving relationship with God. The relationship is the means through which believers are continuously conformed into the image of Christ. The platform of the movements was basically to discard the notion of Christianity being about heartless and empty rituals trying to reach God. It is biblical to reject any worship that comes from stiff-necked and calloused hearts. The Old and New Testament teaches directly against callous commitment to the Lord of heaven and earth (Is. 29:13 & Matt. 15). So, it is completely reasonable even more, agreeable, that these common expressions want to stress the relational significance of Christianity. The next concern is about the individualistic attachments those expressions might have. Yes, God does call individuals into a personal relationship with him, but it is always in the midst of a community. It is in community that the salvation relationship is worked out. Therefore our personal relationship with God includes our relationship with others in the community. 1 John 4:21 declares, "The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also."
But that is not all that I am getting at here.
There is also the expression that Christianity is not about rules, but about a relationship. Again, this phrase is expressing the idea that being a Christian is not a detached ritualistic endeavor of attempting to walk in a straight line. Also agreeable, since at the core of the good news is the truth that without God's mercy, grace, and love alone, we will all be doomed! But also, that statement though understandable, neglects that there are rules to a relationship. Relationships demand communication, it requires love and faithfulness. For the believer, a relationship with God requires keeping with his commands in obedience. Rules is not the beginning point of a relationship, love is. For the believer, rules primarily displays that God is interested in the details of our lives. It demonstrates that God is passionate about where our affections goes to. He is interested in what we worship. God deeply cares and loves those who seek him! Rules then is somewhat of a good thing.
Maybe we shouldn't be looking out to "bumper-stickerize" Christianity. I think we elevate an aspect or a specific doctrine of the faith when we claim the Christian faith to be encompassed in a simple phrase. It is not that it is wrong, it's because it is incomplete.
But again, that is not all that I am getting at here.
Christianity is a religion. We have neglected the idea of it for a while to make the faith seem not to be like other religions. I am aware of the understanding of religion as man trying to reach God. The Old and New Testament proclaim that God reaches down and engages with his creation to reveal his will and plan. We have received the highest form of his revelation in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Perhaps what all the bumper stickers were trying to get away from is the heartless, man trying to get to God religion. That is not true religion. Jonathan Edwards writes in his Religious Affections, "God in his word greatly insists that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit, and that our hearts be engaged vigorously in our religion." He goes on to write, "If we are not earnest in our religion, and if our wills and inclinations are not strongly exercised, we are nothing. The importance of religion is so great that no halfhearted exercise will suffice." True religion springs forth from the heart of flesh and new spirit that God gives to his children. In that true religion, the Spirit of God empowers us to live a life of love that extends to others in the community. Our hearts become moved to worship God, communicating with him, and offering him all our adoration and praise. True religion stems from various affections displayed in numerous stories in the Bible. According to Edwards, true religion is placed in the affections of holy fear, hope in God and his promises, love, holy desire, joy, religious sorrow, gratitude, compassion, and zeal. According to James, the brother of Jesus, "Religion that God, our father accepts as pure and faultless is to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27)
The main point I am trying to get across is that God calling individuals to himself is a demonstration of love since all human hearts are restless till they find rest in God. Therefore worshiping God becomes an affection that God provides, and then enables believers to continue to live in a loving relationship with him and with others. True Christian religion realizes the grace of God that washes clean even the worst of sinners. And me, one of sinners, humbly receive the heart of flesh and the new spirit He gives freely and offer my whole heart to Him in worship!
Kingsley
