We All Know Something’s Wrong…
“To just read the Bible, attend church, and avoid ‘big sins’ – is this passionate, wholehearted love for God?” – Francois Fenelon.
We all know something’s wrong…This is the opening line in the preface of Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Why aren’t our lives marked by the same power and enthusiasm as we see in the Bible? If we really believe we are serving the same God as they were, shouldn’t we be getting similar results?
The problem very likely goes back to our view of God. Do you have a “check-list” mentality when it comes to your Christian life? Just this past Sunday, our pastor brought to remembrance the envelopes that some churches used to have members complete each week. There was a place to check off if you had read your Bible each day, if you had tithed, if you had attended Sunday School…you get the idea. Our pastor jokingly, but readily admitted, that many times just before falling to sleep, he would remember he had not read his bible. He would pick up his Bible and hastily read a few verses just so he could “check” it off his list. Unfortunately, this is how many Christians still live their lives – having just “enough” God to check some things off the list, rather than loving Him with their whole being.
Friends, I am tired of a shallow understanding of Jehovah – the great “I AM” – in my own life. The God I read about in the Bible was feared, worshiped, and adored. But yet He also loved us beyond all measure. There is a common theme that runs from Old to New Testament. God is constantly seeking our fellowship. He came to dwell with us so that some day we can dwell with Him. This relentless seeking of us is evident from the Garden of Eden, to the pillar of cloud in Exodus, to the time He sent Christ to “tabernacle” among us (Jn 1:14).
What is holding us back from freely worshiping the King of Glory with all of our being? Why aren’t we seeing the Holy Spirit work in our lives like the Bible says He can? If you ask Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, he would tell you it is because our view of God is small and narrow – similar to that check list mentality I mentioned before.
So how do we expand our view of God from small and narrow to infinitely powerful? Start by reading the Bible with fresh eyes. Don’t let the paradigms of what you have been “told” about God all of your life be your only source for knowing God’s character. Last year, I taught a women’s class called “Hallowed Be Thy Name”. Wow – it was like a celebration every week learning the nature of our God based on the names He called Himself. I love that God doesn’t just reveal everything about Himself at once. To be honest, I don’t think I could take it! It is an incredible adventure to learn about His true nature by studying the Word for yourself. It will most definitely shatter some narrow paradigms you have believed about God.
We all know something is wrong. Our lives are not marked by the power we read about because we have “just enough God”! Honestly seek Him and you will want more and more. This is when a whole-hearted passionate love for God will blossom in your life. Enjoy listening to God of Wonders as you think about how HUGE our God is.