“..And there were so many fewer questions when stars were still just the holes to heaven.”
Jack Johnson is pretty good at expressing a common sentiment among parents, and even adults. Thinking of this statement biblically, it seems life was easier when all we thought about was “Asking Jesus into my heart.”. “Seems” being a key word here. Imagine all the richness of our faith, and experiences of God’s New Life we would miss out on, if we’d simply left it at praying a prayer when we were 5.
And yet, there is some truth here as well. In the past 10 years, my faith has changed and deepened. I’ve been freed from many of the dispensationalist, and Zionist elements I never realized had influenced my faith, and been given a new Hope for all the Christ is doing – both now and for eternity. I no longer believe we’ll be “raptured” to a distant city where we float on golden streets; but that scriptures point to a “New Creation”, and coming together of both Heaven and Earth in a physical existence like never before. This earth, and what we’re doing in it, will not simply be “thrown away”, but are intimately connected to what God is bringing about.
Even my wife has said it, “How can so many people ‘interpret’ the Bible in so many ways? Why can’t it just be simple?” Amen. Unfortunately, because of the fallen nature of humanity, there will always be men and women who bend God’s word to say what they would like it to say. Even in my excitement over what I believe to be coming, I am at the same risk.
Now, more than ever, we need a reminder of what God says about what He is up to. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says,
“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.“
The Truth of what God is doing is accessible, and already a part of who we are. We can search the scriptures as a family, and with our children, and trust that we are receiving Him. Christianity is not a gnostic treasure hunt. It is Love coming, fully and forever…
ps. “X” is the Greek letter “chi”, which traditionally stands for “Christ”, allowing the title of this post and words like “X-mas”. Also, for more on a renewed understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ, check out “Simply Christian” by NT Wright.
words from wick 