Christian Living
I was in Barnes and Nobles bookstore the other night. As much as I love books it’s not a place I visit often because, frankly, books cost too much these days. I buy them cheaper online and make use of the library. But I still visit from time to time just to browse.
How does one make a decision when there are many avenues available and many voices saying to go one way while other voices say to go another? As I walked through the bookstore it was as if the books were all shouting to the customers, “Be persuaded by me! No, me!†in a cacophony of silent voices that have a way of being the loudest kind. As for me it was not a problem. I’m very familiar with books and the way they make their claims. At this stage in my life I’m also simply not interested in many of the things displayed as big deals, so I shut out their voices with ease and listen only to those that promise substance. They never have to shout.
But books are my strong suite. There are other areas in life where I’m easily just as lost as anyone else looking for direction, just as others are strong where I am weak. I’ve gone down the wrong road enough times to know what a bad decision feels like. Yet, though we all have our weak and strong areas, I believe that hearing or perceiving that sane voice or right direction is part skill and part humility. I think mostly humility.
Years ago when I worked on an ambulance we once picked up a patient, an elderly man, who had some kind of condition where he could not stop his right hand from moving in circles as it lay on his stomach. He told me his wrist felt worn out yet he could not stop the involuntary action. To me that is a picture of our society. We keep everything in constant motion even when it’s clear that in many cases we need to relax or do nothing. We do many things because we can, not because we should. There is a pill for every condition, a book for every viewpoint and a continually transmitted list of things to worry about. More than ever I am convinced that one must learn to opt out of the madness if he or she ever expects to enjoy any real peace in their lives. We should be concerned when we allow ourselves to be in a constantly agitated and restless frame because it’s a characteristic of wickedness.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. – Isa. 57:20
We’ve turned the world into a hurricane of disconnected facts that constantly batters us. Such an environment makes rest a greased pig difficult to catch. Restless souls are souls always on edge, always looking to put all the disconnected jigsaw facts together into a finished puzzle that will present a picture of what it’s all about. Instead, no matter how many pieces of the puzzle we put in place, we find that the rules keep shifting and changing to require a whole new set of puzzle pieces. There is always a voice with directions on where to go and how to change our thinking to get all the pieces in the least amount of time. All at a discount price, of course. But all we end up doing is running a gauntlet of illusions.
The gauntlet of illusions, you've run
Of which a multitude has no notion
From torture to torture, perpetual motion
Their course redundant and mercilessly long
Compelled by a monotone siren's song
Toward illusions existing only in mind
A singular affliction of the willfully blind
One would think that we Christians would have an advantage in this regard. And, when we are true to ourselves, when we Prodigals come home, we do. But so much of what is recognized as the “Christian†world is just as much a rat race as the world which Christians say we are not to be part of. There’s a whole lot of peace being spoken where none exists.
Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered mortar. – Eze. 13:10
We have built up a wall between us and the world, but if the scales fell from our eyes we would see that it held together by the untempered mortar of our imaginations, for in many cases it is the voice of the world from which we take our cue, baptize it though we may. No one need accept my evaluation here. You know within yourself whether or not the case is as I say. But we can opt out of the madness in the church just as we can the madness of the world. Indeed, we must. The call to “come out from among them†is not bound by stained glass windows (or mega church malls). The wheat and the tares grow together (Mat. 13:29).
No one need wait for a preacher to say it’s ok. All biblical directives speak to the individual as well as the community. Though Christ walks with the church, he said lo I will be with YOU always; just as He had life in Himself (Jn. 5:26) and yet was never separate from the Father or Spirit. When the centurion exhibited his faith so that Jesus Himself marveled (Luk. 7:9), he did not wait on anyone’s approval. He simply humbled himself where he was, and now is memorialized in Scripture as an example of faith. By faith he opted out of the madness that would restrain him as a Gentile and as a stranger from the visible covenant people. He simply chose the good part which was not taken from him.
But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. – Luk. 10:42
The boy born blind, to whom Jesus gave sight, knew nothing of the tortuous intricacies of pharisaical arguments, nor did he let such arguments bind him. He only knew one thing (Jn. 9:25), and that one thing was enough to give him reality in the gauntlet of illusions through which they tried to force him. The religious voices actually told him to give God the praise (Jn. 9:24) as if that meant discrediting Jesus. How often the church speaks of giving God praise while disconnecting that from the whole of how life is lived. But Christ’s voice spoke through deed and was enough to win the boy because he was able to say yes with a heart not choked by the cares of this life (Luk. 21:34) in their many disguises.
No matter how colorful an artificial plant may be it can’t match the ineffable beauty of one autumn leaf. In the same way no matter how intricate, elaborate and fascinating man’s arguments, be they in or outside the church, the knowledge from above will always be easy to digest (Jam. 3:17) because it’s always interpreted by Another (Jn. 16:13) for those who’ve chosen the good part in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24). These are the people with true freedom who do not fit into stereotypes of cheap holiness, fake morality and predictable calculations about how God works. In fact, such may even find themselves easily misunderstood. And though they may explain themselves as Christ often explained Himself, they have learned not to be disappointed when their words fall into ears unconnected to noble hearts (Acts 17:11).
Paul made some amazing statements about what belongs to us.
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come;all are yours. – 1 Cor. 3:21 -22
These words are like buried treasures that Christians trample daily unseen. Everything belongs to us but we live as if those words are on some layaway plan we can never quite seem to pay off. And when we do recognize those words we twist them into some kind of Americanized concept of prosperity that compares to the spirit and truth of those words as a broken tail light compares to the sun. It shows that we don’t humbly accept the truth but strive to recreate it in our own image.
When someone chooses that good part in spirit and truth they automatically possess all things right then and there. Nothing else need be said; no ceremony performed. It is truly done. When the woman from Canaan besought Jesus (Mat. 15:22) to heal her son he ignored her. Not very nice, was it? But when she persisted and worshiped Him he basically called her a dog. But she had already chosen that good part in spirit and truth. Therefore her feelings could not be hurt, nor could she be dissuaded. It was as if she said, “Hey, that’s cool with me. I don’t mind being a dog as long as I have a real portion in You. Nothing else matters.â€
I have no interest in the restless, soul killing striving of this world and the endless pursuit of pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that never ends. Neither am I interested in the restless, soul killing striving of the church world that tries to put together the same puzzle in Jesus’ name. When I am true to myself, when I’m not being Prodigal and listening to the voices that proceed from the gauntlet of illusions, I want to possess all things in that truly anonymous and unnoticed way that Jesus did when, after His resurrection, he was mistaken for the gardener. The joy of such a quiet, all powerful humility is inexpressible, showing that the good part chosen is really all things.
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 840 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Bruce Newman or search for other articles by topic below.
This article has been read 840 times < Previous | Next >
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.