For by faith are we walking, not by perception.
2 Corinthians 5: 7, Concordant New Testament
I listened to a podcast this week from some You Tube influencer on health matters. One point which he made interested me, in that he claimed that most people see only what they believe in. That is, if you hold a certain point of view of things, this is what you will end up believing. A good friend of mine and I have often referred to this as our "filter." However you look at it, many people have often been mistaken about a good many things due to their filter. A prime example of this in practice is our own Christian faith. From a early age, I was filled with Sunday school stories of the people of the bible. Eventually, I graduated into listening to the same stories only in sermon form from one pastor or another. Yet the narrative always remained exactly the same no matter what. It seems that I could have taken any story I had learned in my Sunday school years and plug it directly into a pastors Sunday sermon. Anyone who has ever spent a good deal of time in church can attest to this. Haven't you noticed that many Christians will argue their religious point very strongly? They are defending a belief. Is it any wonder that so many of those outside of the mainstream church call Christians closed minded? We only see what we believe. I get it. I used to count myself as one of these closed minded believers. Whenever someone would question what I believed about Christianity, the fight was on. Of course, there are never any winners in arguments such as these. The only common factor in the end is two angry or frustrated people. One or both may feel themselves justified for their strong defense of what they BELIEVE is the right thing. I work with a man who, although he is a wonderful man, cannot handle a conversation on Christianity and what we each believe. Indeed, too many of our conversations have almost led down the road of religious defense. I value his friendship far too much to prove any point I would be making.
For the present we are observing by means of a mirror, in an enigma, yet then, face to face. At present I know out of an instalment, yet then I shall recognize according as I am recognized also.
1 Corinthians 13: 12, Concordant New Testament
When you consider things, Christianity is filled with that which we come to believe in. We believe that Christ Jesus was born of a virgin. We believe that He was persecuted, bled, and died on a Roman cross. We also believe that He rose three days later and was seen by many before ascending to the Father in heaven. Yet it is this latter point which seems to divide those who adhere to the words of the apostle Paul who speaks of the truth of Christ in us {Galatians 2:20}. In Christian theology, after His resurrection, Jesus ascended into the clouds (was it the clouds?) where He remains to this day. But wait, where, then, does Paul get the idea that Jesus remains in us? Doesn't this belief shatter the teaching of the mainstream church? Which view is the correct one? Do we follow Paul, or traditional Christian teaching? Consider that Jesus Himself prayed that God's children would eventually come to be ONE with He and the Father {John 17: 21}. How is it that we can be one with Christ in the Father if we are not IN Christ? The passage clearly states, "As Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they may also be in Us." That seems pretty straightforward. As children of God, it is God's desire to see us in union with He and His Son. We cannot be in union with the Father unless we are in union with Jesus as well. Paul takes this a step further by proclaiming that we are "hidden" together with Jesus in God {Colossians 3:3}. This is what I believe to be true. Of course, there are those who see and believe things differently. My prayer is that the Father will reveal the truth of His Son to them.
For His invisible attributes from the creation of the world, being apprehended by His achievements, besides His imperceptible power and divinity, for them to be defenseless.
Romans 1: 20, Concordant New Testament
~Scott~
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