1 John 4: 7 - 8 NKJV
I recently made the comment to a legalistic brother that we must serve two Gods in our christian faith. Not only do we serve that God which the institutional church tells us awaits us whenever we mess up and do something wrong. He is there, sitting in heaven, waiting to correct us with some correction for our own sin. Then there is the God who not only provided for the forgiveness of our sins, but the resolution of our relationship with Him. Which of these Gods do you serve? Well, for the longest time I served that God which the church told me awaited me in eternity. That is, if I was a good christian soldier and lived a holy, God centered life. Well, I'm here to tell you, that version of God messed me up. In fact, I left the church I had been attending for some time because of this version of God. The thing is, I could never measure up to the life I was told He had in store for me. Sure, I was created in His image and He loved me, but He was also distant from the life I lived. He, and Jesus for that matter, were both seated in heaven looking down upon me making sure that I walked the christian walk. If I didn't walk the walk which Jesus had, then there was obviously something wrong with me. This is where the stern side of God came through, to correct me whenever I messed up. Trust me, I've been through a lot of Gods correction. So, does that make me a better christian in the end? Was God able to somehow whip me back into shape? Well, many a well meaning legalistic christian would claim that these were but battle scars of the christian life. Really? Did God love me enough to forgive my sins but yet correct me when I sinned again? This is the first God, the God of the legalistic church. It is here where I had to step aside from the church and search my heart for who God really was. Because, up to this point I had been missing Him entirely. I failed to see how my heavenly Father could have affection for me, a sinner. Well, a sinner saved by His grace.
6For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5: 6 - 8 NKJV
It wasn't until after I stepped away from the church that I was introduced to the God I had never known. That's right, despite many years in the church it seems that I still didn't know my own heavenly Father. I knew the stories of Him that I had heard in church, but this had only been someones idea of God which they wanted me to hear. Don't get me wrong, God and God 2.0 are very similar, but there are indeed differences. I remember listening in amazement as a friend related to me that the God he knew was not a God of correction and seperation, but one of love and relationship. This was exactly what I had been missing! What herecy was this? Believe me, this sounded more and more like the God I had been searching for most of my life. This was a God who was intimately involved in the life of the children He loved, not seperated from me as I had been told for so long. I liked this version of God much better. The problem was, there was a division among the christian friends I knew of which God was our true Father in heaven. It is for this very reason that I commented to my brother recently. Another thought to consider is this, what if God has always been there waiting for His children to return once again to Him? I could totally see that happening. Could it be that we have been fed the wrong information about God? Well, if that's true then the issue becomes less about our heavenly Father and more and more about ourselves and how we see Him. My friend is very well versed in scripture and can quote many a verse to defend his own view of the God of the legalistic church. Despite there being scriptures telling a different view of the same God, he sticks to his guns. I get it. He may very well be in that same place I was when I left the church, still searching for a God he never knew. A question I have asked my friend more than once is, why isn't the church teaching the love and relationship of the God I have come to know? Well, that might not fill too many seats on a sunday. Think about it, what good is a sermon on being more like Jesus when you already are like Him {Galations 2:20}? What good is that sermon on seeking Gods forgiveness for our own sins if we are now dead to sin {Romans 6:6}? Anybody see where I'm going here? God, in His amazing love for us, has not only provided for the forgiveness of our sins, but for our own relationship with Him as well {John 17:23}. What I have come to realize is that it was never God who changed over time, as He is the same forever. No, what changed was the way WE came to see Him. Far from being the God of stern correction and lack of intimacy which we have been taught for so long, He is instead a Father who is intimately involved in everything we do. This is the God I know.
20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 17: 21 - 24 NKJV
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment