More Than A Book

 

To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is: Christ among you, the expectation of glory. 

Colossians 1: 27, Concordant New Testament 

I recently saw a advertisement put out by the son of the late Billy Graham which made me stop and think.  See, Franklin Graham continues his late fathers work of leading people to the Lord.  Yet, there are some ways in which I will not agree with his approach to such things.  For example, in the advertisement in question, Graham states that we have hope in the "word of God."  Now, not to cherry pick his comments too much, I believe that Franklin Graham is missing the point here.  For our hope is not in a book, but in Christ Jesus.  The apostle Paul spoke to this in Colossians when he spoke of the revelation of Christ in us being our own "Expectation of glory" {Colossians 1:27}.  For God did not send a book as a sacrifice at the cross for the wickedness of man.  The book never rose from the tomb three days later.  No, it is Jesus Himself who we recognize as our One and only hope.  We also know that He who promised us hope is faithful {Hebrews 10:23}.  Now, I am unaware of the theological leanings of Franklin Graham, but if he grew up in his fathers shadow, then he is indeed steeped in the mainstream church theology.  I've definitely heard this in his messages.  Yet in his heart remains the motivation of his father, that all would come to know the Lord.  I'm assuming that this is where I differ with most mainstream believers.  I believe in the living Christ in me ( I say "me," yet I do not exist).  For the most part, mainstream Christian theology speaks to a separation between the believer and God.  This is the teaching I grew up on.  This is also the teaching which left me with feelings of guilt and shame whenever I even thought of approaching the Lord.  I was told that I was a sinner and that my life was a constant struggle to rid myself of such things.  I prayed that God would forgive my sin.  Well, the truth is that God has not only provided for us  the cleansing of our sin, but the life of His Son as well {Galatians 2:20}.  The book even tells us these things.  Yet, I always thought of putting my hope in a book to be pretty impersonal.  

For to expectation were we saved.  Now expectation, being observed, is not expectation, for what anyone is observing, why is he expecting it also?  Now, if we are expecting what we are not observing, we are awaiting it with endurance. 

Paul To The Romans 8: 24-25, Concordant New Testament 

A Barna study in 2010 claimed that sixty seven percent of Americans, that's two out of three adults, claimed to have a "Personal relationship" with Jesus which is active and influences their life.  Really?  Not to cast doubt on these statistics, but a "personal" relationship with Jesus really isn't considered mainstream theology.  I believe that these individuals might simply describe themselves as "spiritual."  But is simply being spiritual equivalent to having a relationship with Christ?  I would say no.  A personal relationship means that you share in the life of the other person.  Can you have a personal relationship with a book?  I would challenge those who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus if they know the true Christ.  That is, do they realize that Jesus dwells within them?  Are they even aware that they, themselves, died with Him long ago {Galatians 2:20}?  My guess is that these people know "of" Jesus, but do not truly know Him personally.  It reminds me of the teaching of the mainstream church which told me that I could "Be like" Jesus if I devoted myself.  Yet God never intended for us to simply resemble His Son.  The Lords desire is that His children would be one with He and Christ {John 17:21}.  Again, the book tells us of this.  My hope is not in that which I can see.  My expectation lies in that which I cannot see.  

~Scott~