"Hi dad. I love you. You'll like this: I'm doing a project in which basically the only requirement is that it tells a story, and I've chosen to tell the story of my faith. Here's the plan I made for it so you can get a sense of what's going on.
Inspiration:
I was actually inspired by reading “Young Goodman Brown.” I hate the thought of blindly following anything, let alone the thing I say is the most important in my life. I realized that I have to test it (my faith). I had been thinking about that for a long time, especially since starting high school. I have really had some issues with anxiety and not trusting God, which is why it’s such a struggle for me to remember that I have to make that choice to live for him every single day.
I gotta do an interview so can you pretty plz answer these questions?"
How should Christians strengthen one another?
The beauty of the Christian Faith lies in the person of Jesus. All situations and all circumstances can be and should be filtered through him. It is the simplicity that makes our faith applicable and practical and powerful. It does not, however, make it easy. Romans 12 gives us some clarity and perspective. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Before we ask How, we should know why? Why should Christians strengthen one another? One important reason is because the road is hard for a Christian, being in the World but not of the world. Another reason is for our own growth, to model sacrifice and dependency on others is to learn how to surrender. By learning how to both strengthen and depend on fellow Christian's we learn that we must trust God, it's really the only way.
1 John 3
6 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
We should always have our eyes on the prize. Why are we Christians? What have we been saved from and saved to? If we know the answers to that, then we know the answers to Why. Strengthening each other without purpose and without the power of Christ is eventually draining and counterproductive. It is and should always be about him.
How should Christians strengthen one another? Proximity, community, availability. If you are with others, seeking Christ, then his work in our collective hearts will do the work. In marriage, in community and in relationship, we are to point each other always to Jesus. If we are obedient to his will and able to sacrifice our own desires and needs we will find our purpose and find our strength. But no matter the good intentions or good deeds, if we act without a fierce obedience to Christ and his spirit at work inside of us then we will eventually collapse under the weight of duty and obligation. Be close, Be available, Always re-direct to the person of Christ with gentleness and respect.
Acts 2
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
When there are people in your life who do not agree with you, what do you have to gain from them? What can they gain from you?
What a great question. It is the right question. As a Christian, sometimes the hardest impulse to resist is the one to seal ourselves off from the world. Not just in Christianity, but for all people we seek to gather around us: people that look like us, think like us, and affirm us. Looking in a mirror will only give you a two dimensional view of yourself. If we want the fullness of a 3 dimensional view, we must invite other viewpoints. There are people around us from drastically different backgrounds that view the world differently because of those backgrounds. The heart of compassion, the heart of Christ is to try to understand how and why people feel the way they do. In doing so we get a fuller view of ourselves and our place in the world at large and we also can see how the Gospel can reach all people, regardless of our different background. For me, establishing a firm foundation in belief in Christ has allowed me to truly engage people, their different beliefs and worldviews with complete freedom. Because I have a firm, yet not blind belief, I have the security of really listening to their ideas and points of view. Before Christ, I spent a lot of time constructing my own sort of religious system, built from ideas that were comfortable to me and I could easily put into place. I borrowed from Jesus, Buddha and Bono. I excluded ideas from each of those that didn't fit into what I wanted. This should have been the most open-minded growth filled time of my life, but I was actually completely burdened by trying to make sense of the world without anything to be grounded to. It made me scattered and not a very good listener because my head and heart were in constant flux. Being clever was more important than being coherent. The idea that everyone has their own "Truth" is nice on the surface and it seems like the most tolerant of all approaches. However, this is like each of us growing in our own terrarium. Pretty and organized, but not very deep and never to be challenged by the outside reality.
When people do not agree with me it gives me the opportunity to consider that I may be looking at the world from a narrow point of view. Since Christ is the one who changes people, it is not up to me to force others to bend to my point of view. Our role is to deliver the good news that there is a Savior, who came for us, died for us and overcame death to bring victory. There are a 1000 different ways to express that or live it out silently, but we must do it with sincerity, humility, gentleness and yet still be bold. We must also be willing to put in the time with conflicting views around us and not just drop Gospel grenades on people and leave the scene.
John 17 “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them by[d] the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
What do you do when you are doubting?
Matthew 17 "After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
The story of Transfiguration is multi-layered. A subtle part of it is about doubt. Peter, who would later deny Christ, see's the transfigured Jesus and says, "Let's set up shop here boys." He doesn't want to come down from the mountain...who would? And therein lies the rub. The world is a broken place, not as God intended and while we have moments of pure belief on the mountain top, we have to spend most of our time in the broken world. And that broken-ness in the contrast to what our hearts long for causes us to despair and doubt. However, Doubt is not the enemy of Faith. Doubt is the training partner of Faith. To try to live your life without acknowledging doubt is to live as a fool. It would be like trying to ignore the evidence of heat because you don't want to get burned. It is the evidence of heat that keeps you from getting burned. Faith and Doubt is a complicated relationship for sure. When doubt arises, I take it as a heat warning. I must assess what is happening, Why am I doubting something I previously held as true?
My reaction to doubt is to take inventory of what I know to be true. I must be willing to lay open my Faith to do this. What do I observe? What does my heart feel? What do I know about the universe? Most of the time I try to make myself small. It is comforting for me. I ponder the shear size of the known universe. Then I start to dig into things like Math and Language and Beauty. Math wasn't invented by man. Math exists, order exists, we simply discovered it. The same may be said for Language. Love, love is the same, not an invention, a reality. You can argue that it is merely chemical and evolutionary, but that doesn't dismiss the impact of Love on the world. There is a longing, not just to survive, but to thrive and discover. Why is it that the heart of man has an expectation for Justice and Mercy and Love and Perfection and Salvation and Order, even though this world seems unable to achieve any of it. Doesn't that longing point to something greater, something outside of our existence? From there I begin to drill down. What is the evidence in my life? What is the story of my own salvation? What is the most coherent explanation of how all of this will be resolved? Did I surrender to Jesus as a coping mechanism? I think that is why How Great Thou Art is my favorite song. "Oh Lord my God, When I in Awesome wonder, consider all the worlds thy hand hath made."
Specifically in regards to the Christian faith, Jesus is the only one who has come to us and that makes a huge difference, because in every other worldview, it is the role of the individual to earn salvation and restoration. Grace is the difference maker.
I usually refer to Psalm 77 for guidance.
It's important to acknowledge that none of us make any decision based solely on emotion or solely on logic. It is the nature of human discovery to take all of our senses into account, it is the same with car buying, career choice and faith.
Do you think there is a take-away from our whole moving and Kansas City thing? Trust in Jesus, not your own abilities or own efforts. Blessing is in he himself, not what he has provided. What is better, to be given great fortune, to be healed of sickness or to be forgiven? Well, we have already been forgiven, so what is there to fear? Jesus blesses because that is who he is, not because of our efforts or goodness or obedience. Being near to him is the only blessing that matters and that can happen in any circumstance, be it triumph or catastrophe.
The Love of God is greater far than tongue or pen could ever tell. Knowing that I can never ever write or tell it all, what should be my goal with this project? In life?
Here it is, ready:
Matthew 2816 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Easy right? It's pretty clear what Jesus wants us to do, in the very small interactions, to our work and in our relationships: Make disciples, tell the world the good news that Jesus Saves. Exploring your faith is a way of putting it on display. Remind yourself every so often, when you are working on a project like this, when you are serving others, when you are applying for colleges, when you are braiding your sister's hair, when you are worshiping God that you are doing these things for the glory of God. So simple. So hard. Anything we do, and I mean anything, should be in line with our belief that God is coming back to redeem his creation and we have a role in that. That God SO loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
Wanna add anything else?
When I was your age, I was very angry with my mother and father going back to their divorce and my own isolation. I was a sensitive boy and had a very deep sense of my own sin which I began to internalize as worthlessness. I didn't understand who Jesus was, therefore the recognition of my own sin, which should have led to repentance, led to despair...and anger.
Anyway, I sought to expose my Father's faith as a fraud and I sited all the machinations of religion and the church and all the corruption of the world as proof that he was a fool. More than anything, I just wanted to hurt him like I was hurting. What I remember about his response and what I have carried into my own faith is to "Seek the Truth." His belief, that in all the doubt, if I and if we really sought the truth (sincerely), we would find Christ there, being the answer for all things.
I am excited about this project. Also a little nervous. But your faith is your own, and it needs to be explored. Carry this with you..."Seek the Truth".
I love you! Thanks for including me.
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