Ok so I am going to apologize right up front. God is putting a lot of things that are all sort of connected on my heart right now so I needed to write. Because there are a ton of things on my mind this blog will most likely involve many off shoots and may be unfocused, but it all is necessary.
So my family has started doing a family bible study this summer to grow closer as a family and center our family more around God. Sometimes in the craziness that is life, God can get shoved to the back burner since we know God will always be there. That is not ok. So we were doing our family bible study and are reading Romans 8 this week. I realize as we are discussing we are only concentrating on questions, negatives, or things that confuse us. Do not get me wrong, these things are important and necessary and that discussion should always occur, but there was a vital area missing from our discussion. The awesome glory that is God and all that He has done for us. We talked about all sorts of questions we had pertaining to judgement day and afterlife and authority and a ton of other some what intense, and not always uplifting topics.
We were totally focused on these topics which matter greatly, but we completely ignored all the beautiful and uplifting things Paul has written in Romans 8. One of my favorite versus is "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Instead of discussing how beautiful and powerful God is, and how powerful he can be if we let him use us, we talked about how it was used by the Spanish Inquisition to justify their evil crimes.
I want to re-stress that these things should be talked about, but we cannot loose what matters in them. We cannot get so bogged down in the confusing, or conflicting feeling we find while reading our word that we ignore the beautiful message of hope, glory, and mercy that also resides in those pages.
Off shoot alert!
We as Christians often fear questions; whether they are presented to us by our own minds, the questions of other believers and especially the questions of non-believers. We cannot fear the unknown, but instead find reverence in it. There are things I am not 100% on about my Lord and I'm ok with that, are you? If I asked five of my Christian friends what they thought about the creation I would get five different answers, and that's ok. We Christians try to hide our different beliefs and the things we do not know. Some of us even get defensive and angry when we are asked a question we cannot answer.
For example, one thing that my mind cannot get itself wrapped around is Jesus. He was 100% man AND 100% God...that is 200% of a person!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHH! I cannot understand it fully. But I love it. There is evidence that shows that evolution is very plausible, yet the bible says the universe was made in seven days. What is seven days to God, he has no time restrictions, he has no need or use of time, he is everywhere always. Those are just a few of the things I don't know, my lack of knowledge is overwhelming, but I'm completely willing to admit it. I am not afraid to tell my none, or my christian friends that I am unsure of something involving my relationship to God. I do not give reverence to a random human who died and now controls the universe. I give reverence to God....let me say that again, God.
I will never, ever be able to fully know God, not even after I join him will I fully Know him. God is everywhere always, he is three people all as one, he lives within each of us in a different way and uses all of us for his glory simultaneously! This defies all human understanding of, well frankly, anything. God is not meant to be wholly understood. He is meant to pursued, chased, studied, and discussed everyday. It is not our job as a christian to Know God, it is our job as Christians to pursue God and His will in all that we do.
Off shoot two!!
Speaking of unknowns there are many things that Christians all have different ideas on, not only by denomination, but also by individual. All of us should have our own personal relationship with God, and in that our own person truths in God. God may place something on someones heart He will not on others, leading to different beliefs and interpretation of His Truth. We should not concentrate on our differences, but instead upon the ultimate truths that bind us. God sent his son to this earth to live as a human being and be sacrificed for our sins:past, present, and future. Jesus says, after putting no other God before the True God, the golden rule (do unto others as you would have done unto you) is the most important commandment.
Instead of creating divids and pointing out the differences between denominations we should bring together all believers to form the true body of God on earth. We must love one another unconditionally, not rant and preach and argue; but share, teach, and accept one another.
Off shoot three....last one promise.
We are called to love everyone, not just Christians. There is a bond that Christians can share with each other, they cannot share with non-Christians, simply because they are truly part of another family. We are not, however, meant to section ourselves off and be not true friends to non Christians. The best way to witness to others about Christ is to just live life with them. No judgements, no condemnation. Just love and a smile. That is much easier said then done, but I believe that should be our ultimate goal in life; to show others God's love, even if it is just by smiling at them as we walk by on a crappy rainy day.
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