Knowledge + Love = Truth
Earlier today I had a marvelous opportunity to share and discuss at length the Gospel with a dear friend of mine who I've come to know more and more over the past few weeks. As we discussed the ins and outs of the Christian faith, we traveled into rather deep waters in regards to theological concepts. She asked me question after question of why I believed exactly what I do, many of them being rather tough ones to ponder. We answered some of them and discussed all of them. Within each question, we found the heart of the Father.
Sometimes, God shows us an answer exactly when we want it. Other times, we live our way into the answer at a later time. In all things, God reveals to us His character.
It's truly beautiful how God will reveal Himself if one is truly seeking.
After our fruitfully blessed conversation (thank you Jesus) I realized how much I truly believe what I claim in my daily life to believe. My convictions were revealed to me in a new way today. God reminded me why my heart is for Him-only because of the undeniable fact that His heart is for me.
That's not to say that I do not doubt God, because I most certainly do.
Like Eve in the Garden, I doubt His goodness.
Like the Israelites in the desert, I doubt His faithfulness.
Like Sarah who was old and barren, I doubt His abilities.
Like every other human being, I doubt His everything, because my flesh is weak and fails.
Thank goodness for His Spirit.
Among all of the doubt, today I had a moment that hit me hard, because I realized that no matter how my flesh may fail, there is a part of me that can never deny the truth found in God and in the manifestation of God in the person of Jesus Christ. I believe strong theological cases can be made for the accuracy and historical truth of Christianity, but beyond that are perhaps simpler reasons for belief. The above psalm phrases it perfectly: because His love is better than life, my lips-my life-must glorify Him. When I thirst, He quenches. When I hunger, He satisfies. They are soul-reasons, to give them a name. The following are merely some of the various ones that could be listed:
1. Christianity addresses the problem of sin
Rachel Held Evans has a beautifully written article about this very reason for her own belief that she answered in response to an interviewer asking her why she was a Christian at all, and I resound her words most certainly. Christianity address that evil exists in this world, and not only that it exists but that it can be found inside the hearts of human beings. Christianity does not sugar coat what my soul knows to be true: that I, along with every other human being, am broken inside. No matter how one interprets Genesis, the following truth is found: sin is a heart problem. It always has been and it always will be. Pride, jealousy, anger, hatred, and all other sins are a matter of the heart, and Christianity will address this issue before offering any other sort of theology. It presents the problem of humanity and it presents it accurately.
2. Christianity offers the only valid solution
As the insightful theologian Charles Spurgeon once said, 'I have a great need for Christ. I have a great Christ for my need'. The biblical idea of sin is that it is a heart problem within every single human being, because we are all flawed. Each of us is broken and needs fixing. The only viable solution to this problem is divine intervention, for if all of us is broken, then none of us can fix any of us. We need outside help. Thankfully, this is exactly what Christianity presents to be true. Think about it- the only way for Christianity to be true would be for it to have happened exactly as it is written: that the author of the play writes himself into the story, and in our case, it was so that the author and perfecter of our faith could show us the very reason for living: to turn from sin and to engage in love.
3. Jesus is unexpected
Perhaps my favorite part of the Christian faith is the very person that it all centers around: Jesus Christ. Contextually, the bible tells us that the Jews of the day were awaiting a Messiah, but the picture in their heads of a political king was far from what they got: a humble king who's kingdom was of a different kind. He preached love where only legalism was known. He overstepped social barriers and embraced the arms of the ones who were labeled 'outcasts'. His life was radically different than every other man both then and now, and His call for those who would dare take Him seriously was-and is-to live a life of love and humility found only in 'dying to the self'. Holiness, He preached, was only attained when one's righteousness would surpass that of the Pharisees (the religious leaders of the day), and in this very statement He was overturning tables and throwing everyone for a loop.
How can holiness be attained, then? Perhaps it cannot.
Except through the act of repentance, which leads to confession, which leads to dependance-on the only Holy One: Jesus.
Ironically, the only way to be made beautiful is to acknowledge that are broken.
And aren't we all exactly that?
4. Love is light
There isn't much to say about this point, and that's mostly because the love of Christ is meant to primarily be experienced-not simply spoken about. However, I have grown in my understanding of faith over the past two years, and I think that concept plays a part in love. According to Christianity, steps of faith are meant to be taken out of a real love for God, and when those steps of faith are taken, they yield way to the most beautiful of fruit. John 15 tells us that for the Christian's joy to be complete, he or she must abide in the love of Christ. To truly love as Jesus did, then steps of faith are required. Loving is far from easy. The deep, raw, real love of Jesus means admitting brokenness. It means striving for hope. It means trusting God. It means investing in the lives of other people and allowing them to invest in yours. It's hard and messy and beautiful, and when we actually live out such love, we find that we cannot live any other way.
I've walked in darkness. I've walked in light. The latter was so deeply moving and glorious to me that my soul literally could not and can not deny its existence and beauty.
5. Jesus is for anyone-and for everyone
Mark Twain said, 'Kindness is a language that the blind can see and the deaf can hear'. Well, I think the same can be said for the love of Christ. Unconditional love is a language that anyone can speak. The message of Christianity is inclusion, and I think oftentimes we forget this. When we read the New Testament, we see that Jesus came so that every person may have life-and have it to the full. Jesus came for the Jews (God's chosen people) as well as the Gentiles (every one who isn't a Jew). His love is for every single person to experience.
Anyone can understand forgiveness. You don't have to be a genius, wealthy, or talented to be used or loved by God. In fact, it's more often than not the exact opposite: God uses and loves the most unexpected, unexperienced, and uneducated people you could ever imagine. When Jesus came, He quite clearly came for the outcasts-the ones labeled as 'unclean' in society. One of the best books I've ever read is The Ragamuffin Gospel, a novel that perfectly captures the heart of God, enforcing the idea that His grace and love is, ironically, for the bedraggled, beaten up, and broken-and isn't that all of us? Every person can experience the revelation of light. All people are made to love and be loved, and these last two elements are central to the Christian faith. Oftentimes when I blog I feel like such a hippie, as I constantly type that phrase-love and be loved-and advocate for the four letter word that doubles as a noun and a verb. Maybe I am a hippie, but love is simply the focal point of the Faith and cannot be ignored. Jesus defined the Greatest Commandments as loving God and loving people, and if Jesus found these two points important, then I think we should too.
Being a Christian is not exclusive, primarily speaking. Anyone can do it, and I believe everyone is made for it. The message is that every person is made for good works. I believe it is a hope that is existent for all. Will it require life changes? Most likely. Does it require embracing attributes that go against our flesh? Definitely. Humility, kindness, patience, peace, self-control, wisdom, and many other virtues are at the heart of God and as Christians they, among others, should be virtues that we want to embrace in our own lives. They are so against our own selves, though, because we fight them constantly, and in their places we grasp for pride, arrogance, control, materialism, and much else. Perhaps this is what Jesus means when He says to die to the self, for in doing so-in thinking not less of ourself but of ourself less-we allow God to remove the sinful attributes to make way for the holy ones. Such values are not easy to come by, but perhaps that's what makes them so glorious.
Jesus won me over back in high school, and ever since then His love has literally changed my life.
Jesus won me over back in high school, and ever since then His love has literally changed my life.
Tonight I was lead to share these thoughts with whoever out there that needed to read them. They are five simple truths behind the faith that I hold to, and I hope this post has either encouraged you, affirmed you, or stretched you a bit.
