It has been nine years since I became a Christian. In my near decade long pursuit to follow Jesus I have come across a number of Christian cliches that get tossed around with little if any push back. Many of these phrases have a second-cousin-twice-removed like connection to a Scripture verse or passage which gives the impression they are "Biblical" i.e. the Protestant litmus test. It may be phrases like: accept Jesus into your heart; washed (or cleansed) by the blood of Jesus; seek God's will for your life; anything using "righteousness;" we agree in prayer...; seek God's face; the Lord spoke to my heart; get into the word; turn it over to the Lord; or ...Spirit filled...
Of late the cliche that most troubles me is "personal relationship with Jesus." You can't be among a group of "Bible believing," "Evangelical," "Christ centered" Protestants for more than 30 seconds without the phrase "personal relationship with Jesus" getting launched into the hearing sphere. Lo ye dare to question thee phrase in public or thy may be smite(d). But honestly I have no idea what people mean by the phrase. Are Jesus and I buddies? Are we boyfriend/girlfriend? Are we roomates? Do we bowl together on Tuesdays? I'm afraid in our me-driven, experiential, consumer culture, "personal relationship with Jesus" looks more like Twilight without the fangs - "Oh Edward...Oh Bella...Oh Edward...Oh Bella...Let's be immortal forever xoxo."
When Jesus became a person God became personal and because of that we can personally encounter God. But the encounter is and must always be on God's terms and not our own. God is at center of our encounter and he always makes the first move. Any pursuit of a "personal relationship" with Jesus that seeks emotional highs and new frontiers of experience ultimately puts "me" at the center of the relationship (and I think that might be idolatry). Truly encountering God may require despair, crisis, and the utter absence of God's perceived presence. It may mean the implosion of all our cliches. God forbid, it may mean fewer hand-in-hand walks down the beach with Jesus and more deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow me.
3 comments:
Obviously, you know the same God I know: "But the encounter is and must always be on God's terms and not our own." That is so true! I was wondering if you did after the second paragraph!
Your complaint (Yes, it is a complaint) is that Christians pursue the awesome feelings that accompany a personal time with the Creator, rather than the hard work of denying yourself, taking up your cross and following. Well, that's no fun!
Complaining allows the problem to be recognized, but the next question for you is how to shepherd the selfish Christians to a real relationship with God.
To do that, you need to start where they are, and ask what do they mean when they say, "personal relationship with Jesus". What does that mean to them?
A personal relationship, to me, is one that is full of communication. Lately, He has been saying that He wants to use praise, rather than despair, as the starting point of my prayers. It is taking some practice.
This morning in my prayer-and-Bible time I came across Matt 7:24, the bit about saying "Lord, Lord" and not getting in. The point of the passage is that it is really hard to "enter", so hard that even those who speak for Him (prophesy) or use His name to do miracles (reminds me of Acts 19:13) are not allowed in. Why? because of "lawlessness". Whose laws? God's laws, of course, which have to do with love (Love, God, love your neighbor, love your enemy) and respect (respect authority, government, parents, and husbands). So, is Jesus saying that His followers must live under the rules of His kingdom? Yes, but there is something more. His followers must do the will of his Father (v 23), which is what He uses to guide Him. John 5:19 claims Jesus did not nothing but what He saw the Father doing. He did not just do what He saw needed doing, that would be doing "nothing". The only thing that matters is His Father's will.
If it's not His will, doing miracles are nothing, this letter is nothing, Bible-and-prayer time is nothing, my life is nothing. The Spirit showed me an example of this point a while ago. My husband was watching a baseball game, and as I sat down to join him, the Spirit poked me with a "Pay attention." The game was in the 6th inning, the score 0-0, and both teams were trying their best to win. The announcer suddenly exclaimed,"This is not a low point game, this is a no-point game!" Then I realized that my deeds are like that too; doing my will is pointless in His game. Saying "Lord, Lord" and casting out demons is pointless,or nothing, unless it is the will of His Father. So relax, don't run around trying to do good deeds; only one thing counts. The hard work is knowing what that is.
This is a very compelling message, and one that resonates with me. As one who has rejected the church and embraced Jesus, I see so much Christian marketing of the religion that I can't help but look at it with a sort of contempt. It comes off as artificial, plastic, and contrived. It's a marketing gimmick to purpetuate a multi-billion dollar merchandising campaign. "WWJD?" Footsteps posters. Movies. Concerts. Billions of dollars made BECAUSE of Jesus, not FOR Jesus. Besides, for me, the focus is not on Jesus, but on God. Jesus, as God become man, taught me how God wants me to live. Jesus wasn't just the messenger, but also the letter and envelope. If we want to know God, we don't need catchy marketing slogans and logos; all we need are science, history, nature, love, and grace.
Post a Comment