I Want To Be "Too Christian"

"Are you a Christian?"
How would you answer?  If another Christian asks, it's easy and actually positive to say "yes".  But what about everyone else?  Would you say yes if a hostile classmate asked? An atheistic professor? A radical holding a machete over your exposed neck?

Now, I sincerely hope that none of us ever have to deal with the last one.  But it is unreasonable to believe that you will not be asked by someone who may not like you because of your faith.  Some may not be hostile, but many will want you to put your light in a box.  They may not care what you believe, but they want no part of it.

So what will you say when, like Peter, you are asked if you follow Jesus? Will you deny Him?  Or will you boldly proclaim that He is your Savior and God?  I hope that I would say yes, that I am a Christian.  But it is a question that sometimes you have to ask yourself.

Sometimes, though, it isn't that simple.  It isn't a "yes/no" question.  It is a matter of lifestyle.  Will you live as a follower of Christ, go against the flow, witness to someone in need of the gospel?  Even if it's hard?  Even if you  have to pass up an opportunity to do something you want to do because it goes against your convictions? Even if you're so shy that you don't think you can do it?

I heard a speaker at a retreat tell about a friend in college who was "so Christian" that at first, the speaker was intimidated.  She thought her friend was weird, even though she called herself a Christian too.  But when her friend eventually brought her closer to God, she realized that her friend wasn't being fake...she was just glowing with God's light.

"Since we have such a hope, we are very bold" (2 Corinthians 3:12)

How amazing would it be if we were so excited about the gospel that other people couldn't be around us without thinking we were weird? I mean, is it possible to be "too Christian"? Could I realistically be so passionate about God that I just couldn't help but tell others about it, if not with my words then with my life? Wouldn't you like to be that way?

I try to imagine what that would be like.  I honestly can't even get an image of someone so genuinely in love with God that he or she could draw people to the gospel without even trying.  But I would love to be that kind of person.  Wouldn't you?

How can we become such a person, bold and unashamed of the God who held back nothing in order to save us?  Well, it's no easy calling.  I don't think there is a prescribed way to do it.  But I have a few ideas that just maybe can get us on the right track.

1. First and foremost and always, spend time with God.  Read His word, meditate, pray, repeat.
2. See #1.
3. See #2.
4. Spend time with fellow Christians and encourage each other to be radical for God.  And see #3.
5. See #1.

I think you get the point.  Nothing is going to happen in our lives as Christians until we spend time with the One who IS Christianity.  We are not followers of a religion of rules and formulas.  We are followers of the One True King, the Creator, the Savior, the living God, the great I AM.

If you try all five steps and nothing happens...don't get discouraged. Like I said, it's not a formula.  It's about a relationship.  And it is a relationship that will change your life forever.

Writer's Block

Well, I've been struck with a particularly bad case of writer's block.  It reminds me that I'm not perfect, that I need to depend on God for my content, not on my brain, which has apparently gone back to bed.

 That said, I'm glad God doesn't get writer's block.  I mean, He's the Author of Creation and of our Salvation.  What if He one day sat staring at the little spinning ball we call Earth and wondered how He was going to write our tomorrow?  I can't really imagine it at all.

Here's the thing: God has worked everything out from the beginning...from before the beginning.  God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation (2 Thes 2:13).  He knew every detail of your life before you were born.  He has guided your life from the start.  He doesn't get writer's block because He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent--He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and present everywhere and always. 

Did you catch that?  He chose you before the beginning of time. Can you fathom what that means?  I can't!  But I know the results: When God chooses you, He calls you to believe in Him.  In fact, you cannot believe in Him unless He opens your eyes by choosing you.  Just like this blog post could not ask to be written, you could not ask to be chosen.  It is something the Author decides.  This blog post could not even have the desire to be posted until I had written it; you could not even have the desire to be saved until God chose you.

What might be the most comforting thought in the world is this: God chose me, so I believe; it is not because I believe that God chose me.

If that is a clear as mud, read through this quote from Charles Spurgeon: 

"I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards."

 Hopefully you're starting to understand a little about how unspeakably marvelous it is that we had nothing to do with our salvation and that God had everything to do with it.  Like dead Lazarus, we cannot respond to God's call until He brings us to life. 

So, if you are ever doubting your salvation or worrying about your situation, remember: God doesn't get writer's block.  You are reading the book one page at a time.  God wrote the book before the beginning of creation, but He is reading it right alongside you.  He knows the ending, and He is going to make it glorious.

When Life Does Not Even Give You Lemons

You've probably heard the saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." (Who hasn't, right?) But have you noticed that life never actually gives you lemons? (Or sugar, which is a basic requirement of lemonade.) I don't know about you, but I often get served a full plate of disappointment.  Since New Years, I have experienced just about as many forms of disappointment as I think exist.  I've narrowed it down to three main categories: disappointment by a situation, by a person, and by yourself.  And I've been hit with all three. Since I'm pretty sure everyone deals with these, I'm going to make an "Official Disappointment Survival Guide."  You're welcome.

SURVIVING A SITUATIONAL DISAPPOINTMENT
When a situation disappoints me, it is at once harder and easier than the other forms to handle.  I define a situational disappointment as one that no person has control over (such as the weather).

EXAMPLE: about a week ago, the weathermen were CONVINCED it was going to snow five inches...in the south.  So we go out, like naive little southerners, and buy sleds and cancel everything.

So guess what happened?

It didn't snow.  We got what weatherpeople call a "dusting".  So church got cancelled and we had nothing to show for it but some cold rain.  Talk about a disappointment.

HOW TO HANDLE IT:
Situations that let us down are easier to handle because there is nothing anyone could have done about it, and they are at the same time harder because...there is nothing anyone could have done about it. This calls for one of those times that you just have to "shake it off" and try to make the most of the situation.  Catch up on sleep, watch a movie you've wanted to see for a while, or talk to a friend on the phone. Feel free to ask God "WHY??!?!?", but be aware that He doesn't owe you an answer.  Still, even though we can't see why, remember that God can.

SURVIVING A PERSONAL DISAPPOINTMENT
I don't care how perfect you think that person is.  He or she will let you down.  Maybe it was a miscommunication, or maybe it was a blatant let-down.  Whatever the case, we naturally get at least a little upset with the person. 

EXAMPLE: A friend suggests you all go to a movie but then cancels when he gets invited to do something else.
A person you think highly of gets in major trouble.
A group you're part of gets disbanded after a miscommunication.

HOW TO HANDLE IT:
When people let us down, we are not only dealing with the disappointment but also with our feelings of hurt toward that person.  So, now you have to deal with an evening alone with Netflix and with your anger.  Sometimes, if it's just a petty disappointment, you can let it go easily.  But sooner or later someone is going to do something that crushes you.  And you are going to have to deal with it.

Probably the first thing you should do (actually, definitely first!) is talk to God.  He is always listening and He knows what is going on.  Tell Him about how you feel.  Ask Him for patience.  Then move as quickly as you can to forgiveness.  Sometimes the person has a reasonable excuse for letting you down, making that step a little easier...but sometimes they don't.  Sometimes there is no good excuse, and you have to struggle with raw forgiveness.  (This is not a post on forgiveness, so I'm not going to go into too much depth with that, or we'll be here all day.)  Once you've forgiven the person, whether or not they have a valid excuse for disappointing you, move on.  Find something productive to do or do something spontaneous.

SURVIVING A SELF DISAPPOINTMENT
You know that sick feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you get let down by the person you counted on most?  Multiply that by a zillion and you'll get close to how you feel when you let yourself down.  Now, obviously it's hard to betray yourself, but I know you've disappointed yourself before (if not, count yourself the happiest person alive). 

EXAMPLE: You prepare for a competition, know exactly what you're doing, and then slip up when you know you could have done better.
You study hard for a test but end up doing worse than you're willing to accept.
You miss a long-anticipated opportunity.
Fill in the blank.

HOW TO HANDLE IT:
  First, don't do anything.  Don't freak out and beat yourself up.
  Second, figure out what went wrong.  Sometimes it's just a random mistake, which is okay, but if there was something that you could have done better, you need to know what it was.  (This is also a really effective way to figure out how much blame to put on yourself, although that is not its intent.)
  Third, remember how awesome you are.  I'm not being cheesy: God made YOU in His image, which means that you get awesome points just for being made by God like God.  He gave you special qualities too, and if you ask anyone who loves you, I'm sure they would be more than happy to deluge you with all the things that make you fantastic.
  Which leads to fourth: If nothing else, talk to God.  He knows and loves you better than anyone else (better than you!) and can show you how special you are.
  Fifth, forgive yourself.  Depending on how serious your disappointment was, this could take a while.  So, if you can't let yourself off, try six:
  Sixth: put your disappointment into perspective.  Will it matter in a week?  A year?  An hour?  If it won't matter then, it doesn't have to matter now.
  Seventh, remember that it isn't the end of the world; not only is it not the end of the world, it might be the beginning of something better.  You might not be able to see it now, but one day, you may look back and realize that by losing one thing, you gained something so much greater, something you never would have found if you hadn't lost.  (Imagine a child crying when she loses her lollipop only to be given a basket of candy.)

Disappointment happens to everyone.  If life doesn't give you the necessary materials to make lemonade, you have to cope.  And God is there.  Be still, know that He is God.  And then turn that frown upside down!