From Sundays sermon: Since Biblical belief is this ever-deepening, reciprocal faith, occurring in the context of a relationship with another person, then you’d better be sure you get the basics down right. Before I enter into this relationship with Christy, I’d better be sure she’s no imposter, that she isn’t a member of the Nazi party, that she isn’t concealing layers of hatred and meanness and unfaithfulness under that sweet exterior. If I decide it makes any sense at all to bank on the idea that she’s a sweet person, a good person, and it’s not completely nuts to enter more deeply into relationship with her, then it is those first beliefs in who she is that will guide me. Even when I don’t understand her, I will continue to believe in her goodness. Even when she makes mistakes. Even when I disagree. I have decided she’s basically who she claims to be, and I’m willing to let that get under my skin, let it materialize in my life. If I take every mistake, every failure, every flaw, every circumstantial suggestion that she’s not who she seems to be as gospel truth, I’m going to be very deeply confused, I can’t live in faithful relationship to her, and therefore I cannot become the person I need to become. Now this thing with God is a relationship. Maybe a great deal more than that, but at least that, right? And so if you think God is petty, jealous, spiteful and vengeful, you might want to think twice about worshiping/following that god, because you’re going to become like whatever you believe your god to be. And there’s already plenty of human beings who are that way, and those things are EASY to become, so you don’t need a deity that’s that way. So you can just move on. But if you think it’s not crazy to think God maybe created you, and loves you, and appeared in Christ with skin on to show you what God actually looks like -- if you think God is loving and just and gracious -- then trust in that. Believe in that. Stake your life on that because you too will grow into whoever you believe your god to be. Allow that to materialize in your life. Jesus said, in Matthew 9, Become what you believe.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 01:59:48 +0000