I have to share an experience I went through very recently that has been on my heart. I was on my way back from visiting my love and my family. I was supposed to be held overnight in Georgia, but it seemed to work out that I did not have to be held up. After mentally preparing for a stay in Georgia, I was not quite relieved when the Airline told me I could bored that evening. Oh well was my thought as I entered the plane. I found my seat which was conveniently located for a 6’2″ 200 pound man, right in the middle. Another oh well moment passed. As I found my seat, the lady next to me started a conversation.
I had explained to her that I was going to Seminary and loved what I was learning, but the thing about seminary is that learning about Biblical things like Greek interpretation and how to better defend the views you hold does not replace your personal time with Christ. “It is on me to have personal time with Christ” was the basic quote I shared with her.
I will stop the story here and explain that this elderly lady was both sweet and intelligent. She was gentle in her words and loving in her approach to the next portion of the story. However, this story gets quite interesting. I had previously read in a book about apologetics that you should never try to answer a question that is not being asked. You should not try to defend a viewpoint that is not in question, which makes sense.
As we continue on the flight, and after hearing my brief outline of where I was with Jesus this lady started to, for lack of a better word, preach to me. At first, I was thrown off by what she was saying. There were a lot of details that were being said but to sum it up, I was not good enough. At least this is how I felt after this conversation. The preaching started to almost drive me insane. I began to get defensive during our conversation. I began to ask her pointed questions about the Bible and about God to see what would happen. Then in the middle of nowhere, a moment of understanding flashed in my brain. For a brief moment, I wonder if this is how all Christians sound that try to force the Bible down someone’s throat are perceived to be.
Let me make sure I am clear with this post. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. I believe he lived a perfect, sinless life and was sacrificed by the hands of men so that I may have a chance to spend eternity with God. I believe he died, was buried, and rose again three days later. I believe it is this event, the resurrection that separates Christianity from other religions and I also believe it is an event worth sharing. Having said that, let me not take away from her intention.
It just seemed to me that this lady did not hear anything that I was saying, nor that she was even in the realization that I was a follower of Christ and essentially on the same team as her. I was wondering the question, what if I were not a Christian? Would this turn me off? I told her my love for the life of Jesus and how I longed to live a life like him, or as close as I could. I explained that I take literally the charge, “You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world…”. I do not believe we can blame the darkness for being dark, rather we can only blame the lights for not shining. This is a statement we argued about for a little bit.
All of this to ask, where is love? In my view, she was reiterating the fact that I did not know enough Scriptures, I was not prepared enough to answer hard questions and that I had a lot more work to do. But the point that I tried desperately to make with her is that there is room for imperfection if you place your trust in the event that defines Christianity and have faith that Jesus is your Savior. Why could the faith alone not be enough? When I say that I mean to simply be saved. Paul later talks in the N.T. about faith without action being dead, but that is later. This is talking about conversion.
I pray that in my world of Seminary growth, and as I start to understand why the Bible was written the way it was and why Greek words mean what they do and how to defend my faith with words, I pray that I never lose track of the fact that God sent his son to die on the cross because he LOVED us. Even while we were still sinners [not perfect], Christ died for us. Not because we made a deal with him, not because we reached a certain bar of righteousness, not because we were doing so well he wanted to give us a reward, but simply BECAUSE HE LOVED US. I hope that I never lose track of that fact. Yes, there are things wrong with the world. There are sins that need to be addressed and dealt with, but it is absolutely enough to come to Jesus just as you are and let Him change you from the inside out. There will never be good enough, and if there were, I would not have made it.
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Food for thought: Have you ever been one of the people in that conversation I had? I believe that Jesus died on the cross because he loved me. I believe that was the only way someone like me could have eternal life praising and worshiping in the presence of God. I am not excusing what I have done wrong, because I am still accountable for those things; however, I would argue this was the wrong way to show someone who Jesus loved them enough to die for their sins. Just think about it…
leadershape 