Be Patient, Chew, Savor...... Fulfilled

Human beings are curious creatures.  There is an intense desire to understand the human condition, but we have a problem understanding ourselves.  What is it that makes me want to go for a jog one minute and then take a nap the next?  What is it that causes us to be so bad at diets?  All of us, if we are attentive, frequently have thoughts that leave us questioning where that came from.  It is for these reasons that I have a very limited appetite for studies that try to reduce the human condition to percentages and survey results.  These have their place, but numbers can be manipulated to portray many things, especially in an inexact science as human behavior.
My dissatisfaction for scientific study of human thought and emotion is more pronounced because I know there is a better way.  It becomes much harder to return to falsehood when you have tasted truth.  Let's assume that there is a being that knows the every hair on my head currently, George Washington's in 1776, and Jesus' in 25 AD.  It seems this being would be the only one with thorough knowledge of the human condition.  Many know where I am heading here, because Jesus is quoted in Luke 12:7, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows".  So there we have it, if you believe the Bible is correct, there is great comfort in knowing that there is a God that fully understands this web of statistical improbabilities.  This is inconceivable, we can't even fully understand the motivations of ourselves, and we have lived with and as ourselves for many years.  The thought of us understanding another and our connection with them is unfathomable without God.
If becomes even more encouraging when we analyze John 16:13.  In this passage, Jesus is describing how the apostles will be better off without Him.  He is sending them something even better, the Holy Spirit to live within them, who is fully divine.  Verse 13 says, "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come".  This is rather intense.  God has sent the Holy Spirit, fully divine, all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever present to live within us.  As we learn in John 14:16-17: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you".  Pretty remarkable.
I do not want to claim that we should discard all survey results and all psychological and sociological research, but this should be significantly secondary to scripture and prayer.  Prayer is powerful, Jesus retreated to do it often.  Scripture is powerful, Jesus and the apostles knew it well, quoting it often to rebuke, and to present Jesus' fulfillment of the messianic prophecies.  Yet the Pharisees knew the Scriptures well also, and Jesus' words for them were harsh.  Scripture alone cannot do it, approach the Scriptures with a humble heart, an open mind, and a prayerful disposition.  This process will not be instant; it isn't coffee, a google search, or an iPhone.  Be patient, get somewhere quiet, chew on the Scriptures, and savor them.  The gratification may not be immediate; sometimes it will, but many aspects of Christianity cannot be embraced without deferring gratification until later.  Be patient, and watch your time with God's Word become the best part of your day.

Sickness

I am incredibly, incredibly, incredibly sick. Not an on my death bed, coughing, wheezing, running a fever sick. Although my feeble body succombs to these maladies as well, there is a much deeper illness that plagues me. From my knowledge of others, I know I am not alone in my disease, this disease does not afflict a portion of the population, its affliction rate is 100%. This gruesome disease is a disease of the heart. We all have it. We all want to do good, but we have a pervasive inclination towards bad. I want to think of others ahead of myself at all times, but I can't. I do not want to lust anymore, but it doesn't happen. I want to serve others with the majority of my time, but I get cranky, tired, and simply selfish. This disease is bad news.

Throughout time, man, to some degree, has recognized this disease. We realize our meager existence as beings that are extremely complex yet o' so small. We realize there are things we ought to do yet can't do all the time no matter how hard we try. We realize we long for something beyond this world. We realize we long to worship something greater than ourselves.

In response, religions spring forth. Belief systems that seek to address the big questions. Where did we come from? Where are we going? What is good? What deserves my worship? Our mere knowledge that we need to ask and answer these questions is fascinating. The questions themselves are evidence that there are answers. If I evolved from a few chemicals, why in the world would I develop a longing to answers questions about something that does not exist? I long for food and there is food. I long for sleep and there is sleep. I long for a God, I think there must be a God.

If we are going to reach truth, I believe this is where we must start. We have to wrestle with the realities that we like to hide under the bed. This universe had an origin, and the odds, through scientific discovery, are becoming increasingly greater that it wasn't a coincidence. There must, in my opinion, be a higher being. This is not something simple to say. If there is truly a being that created this world, pitiful me if I do not treat the seeking of the truth about this being with great importance.

I encourage all to engage in a thorough search of the answers to these big questions. But be certain to not put any rules in place. One cannot say, "I will not consider Islam because I cannot adhere to a religion through which murderers justify their actions," or, "I will not consider Christianity because I had a bad experience when I was young." The adherents cannot speak completely for the god. If there is truly a being that exists that is big enough to create this world, this being cannot be properly represented by human beings like you and me. No stone can be left unturned. Only one set of beliefs can be right. There cannot be one God and 300 million gods. Engage in a proper search, nothing is more important.

I will throw in my two cents. I believe that the true God is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He sent His only son to die on a cross for our sins. Yes, the God of Christianity.

There are many reasons. First among them: no religion properly deals with the sickness we all have like Christianity does. Let's take a bird's eye view of our existence. Here's what I think we can know. We know that we live in a ridiculously complex world. This world is in an even more unbelievable, vast universe. More incredibly, in this vast universe, on the planet earth, are these extremely complex beings. Not just humans-- birds, fish, trees, bushes, grass, vegetables, livestock, lions. It's really all incredible. I know for a fact, I didn't create this place, neither did anyone with all the same attributes as me. It had to be someone with incredible power, someone far beyond humans. If this being exists, it deserves ALL of our worship. Lebron James doesn't deserve it, neither does Brad Pitt, or President Obama.

Once we realize that there is a being that created this place and is inconceivably vast and powerful, we begin to look like scum real quick. This is where the work of Jesus Christ becomes key. There is no way we should be able to interact with this being or please this being on our own accord. Judging by this creation, this being must be all that is good. Which means, it should not accept anything that is bad. There is something like a debt that is owed to this being. If all of this is true, humankind has been stockpiling I-owe-yous to this being since the beginning of time. This is where we have to wrestle with the person of Jesus Christ.

There are both Jewish and Roman historic accounts of the person of Jesus. He certainly existed. Many try to write Him off as a great teacher or prophet. Get into a study of religion to test this out. It gets real dangerous, however, when we try to do this. Jesus gave us no room to hold Him as simply a great teacher or prophet--He said things such as:

Mark 14:60-62 (ESV)

⁶⁰And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" ⁶¹But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" ⁶²And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
Matthew 26:63-64 (ESV)
⁶³ But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." ⁶⁴Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Luke 22:67-70 (ESV)
⁶⁷ "If you are the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, ⁶⁸and if I ask you, you will not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." ⁷⁰So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, "You say that I am."


These are the three accounts of Jesus before His accusers prior to heading to the cross. If you asked me if I were the Son of God, and I told you I am and that you will see me sitting by God in heaven, I would not be a man to be held as a great teacher or prophet. I would either then be a liar, a lunatic, or the actual Son of God; as C.S. Lewis so wisely points out in Mere Christianity. Jesus did not want to give us room to hold him as a mere teacher, so we must make a decision. Either hate Him or love Him, there must not be any in between.  


It is this that is so compelling about Christianity. First, it is the only religion that properly points out that we have a massive debt to the Creator and the only religion that provides a remedy, and o' what a beautiful remedy it is. 


God orchestrates His story in a way that we may verify the facts. It is all historical, a person's quest to discover the truth about Jesus is the most monumental of all journeys. Do not read one source and think you have found out all you need to know. 


Learning of the person of Jesus is a lifelong task, there is a lot of trash out there about Him; an author that doesn't regard Him as either Lord, a liar, or a lunatic, should not be considered. I believe you will find author's calling Him a liar or a lunatic are appalling, which will leave you with only one choice. Do not fall for any of the soft talk about Jesus. Do not read the works of men that have piggybacked Him and like to take bits and pieces of Jesus in hopes of broadening their audience. Either take all of Him or none of Him, just taking a nibble is insulting.