Christianity is not a religion.
I have heard it said that religion is man’s attempt at reaching God. God’s ways are too high for us. We will never possess the ability to reach Him. Remember the legend of Icarus, whose father had invented wax wings? He tried to fly to the heavens and when he was too close to the sun; the wings melted, and the child plummeted to his death.
We read in Genesis 11:1-9 of how the people of Babel attempted to build a tower to reach God. This was met by punishment and the confusing of language and scattering of people through the earth. Why? God did not intend for man to reach Him.
Humanity’s purpose is to glorify God.
That is the beauty of the Gospel message. Even though God knew man would sin and be separated from Him, He still created man. Before the foundation of the world, He had provided a way for man to be redeemed to Himself through Jesus Christ.
According to Wikipedia, there are over 10,000 distinct religions in the world. But there is only one way for man to connect to God.
Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me”. (John 14:6)
Why would such a powerful and awe-inspiring deity create such a restrictive process? Because He is Holy. Holy is perfect. Why would there need to be alternative ways when the one that exists is perfect?
Many view Christianity as one of the world’s great religions. Approaching it as such is a mistake which some denominations make. Christianity should be a relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ.
Communication
With any relationship, communication is the key. When communication ceases, marriages dissolve, companies fail, and peace shatters. It is vital for both sides to be able to communicate with each other.
God wants to hear our prayers. Like a parent, He wants us to open our hearts and minds and let Him know how we’re doing. He wants to hear our concerns, comfort us in our sorrows, and rejoice in our victories. Daniel praying in front of his window three times a day is a good example (See Daniel 6:10-28). But in truth, we should live our lives in a state of constant prayer. (see 1 Thes 5:16-17).
All of this is a good start to developing that close relationship which God wants to have with us.
Reciprocity
But any proper relationship is more than one party talking to the other. We possess two ears and one mouth; therefore, we ought to listen more than speak. How do we hear God talk?
I have felt the presence of Jesus many times in my life, but I have never heard an audible voice. We are told in John 10:27 that if we are His sheep, we will hear His voice. But how does God speak to us?
That is through His Word, the Bible.
When I first became serious about being a Christian, I needed to understand what it was I was believing in. So I was determined to read through the entire Bible. Not just academically, I had done that in high school. But prayerfully, asking God to reveal Himself to me. I started in Genesis and ended in Revelation. At times, I could not put the Bible down. It was transformative.
Since then, I have read the Bible many times. After a while, it becomes a chore. OK, I have to read my Bible today. You realize you are not hearing from God, you are just reading words on pages.
In this blog space I am inviting my readers to go on what I hope will be a life-changing journey. Begin by praying for God to reveal Himself through the reading of His Word, but then each day read approximately 85 verses (see the calendar). Ask yourself what those verses are saying to you. Not what they mean. As much as I encourage deep Bible study to understand scripture, here I want you to listen. What is God saying to your soul?
To help illustrate this, I will share a daily devotional of sorts. This is how the verses for that day spoke to my heart. I take a moment to research the commentaries to make sure I am not passing along some heresy. But, it isn’t about understanding the hermeneutics and imagery. It is about being intentional to hear God’s voice as you read.
Please join me here each day as I will share my experience, which should differ from yours, with you. I would encourage you to share back with us your experience. May God bless all who join us in this journey.
January 2. Good morning, today we read through Genesis Chapter 6.
I like to read many versions of the Bible. Though there are some I find cumbersome and others which have translation challenges, most have their good qualities as well. I will often read a verse or even a book in four or five different versions to get the full meaning of the text. This year I have decided to read the NIV for the sake of this daily blog.
In this translation, I read something interesting. There are mentions of many births of sons and daughters, but only three are described as the result of “making love”. First was Cain, who should have been the rightful heir. But, of course, he was corrupted by evil and killed Abel.
Therefore, Adam and Eve were left with no heir as Cain was banished and Abel was deceased. We later read that Cain made love and brought forth Enoch. This was the child of one already corrupted. The name Enoch means train. Cain had parted from God and was not training his children in righteousness, but in battle. This is where the mighty Nephilim will probably come from. These sons, trained in battle, would later take the daughters of Seth and further corrupt the human race. Invariably, sin’s influence will expand its control once it has entered our world.
The third time the term making love results in a child is with Adam and Eve, who give birth to the true heir, Seth.
This sets a pattern we see later when Abraham has a son with Hagar, Ishmael, but his heir is the second son Isaac. And then again with Isaac when Esau sells his birthright for a bowl of stew to Jacob.
This is foreshadowing that the first covenant, the Law given to Moses, would be replaced by the righteous one, the second covenant, that of faith in Jesus Christ.
It is important to recognize patterns in scripture because they guide us in our own self-discovery. We begin life being taught to be good. We inevitably fail, as no one is truly good except God. It does, however, establish the basis that there is good, and conversely, there is evil. Without one, we would not recognize the other. It is the dichotomy which exists between them that magnifies their significance.
As we struggle with the challenges of life, we come to realize how wretched we are and long before I knew Jesus, I knew I needed, or at least desperately wanted, a mulligan. A second chance. We love, we make mistakes and lose that love. We want that back. It is that feeling of belonging that matters, even if not always with the same person. That connection with another person.
After multiple tries, we realize we are not truly getting any better at it. With each relationship, we continue to make new mistakes. How many chances will we get? Desperation sometimes sets in; we fear continued strikeouts will lead to the coach benching us. So, we compromise and settle for something that feels acceptable. Perhaps it is not the fairytale romance we had dreamt of, but it seems like something we could live with.
Fortunately, just as when Jesus turned water into wine in Cana in the second chapter of John, the best was saved for last. When we come to that place where we realize we will never be good enough, and we place our only hope in Jesus, He gives us a perfect salvation. He gives us redemption that surpasses all else and enables us to even understand what love truly is.
Our feeble attempts are being good, which always falters, are replaced with Jesus’ righteousness, which never fails. We get off that hamster wheel of trying and failing and instead can rest in the arms of our Savior.
Sure, we continue to sin and struggle with the personal dissatisfaction of our actions. But, we know even those sins are already forgiven and we are able to move forward knowing that we are still in Christ Jesus.