Thoughts

The nice thing about summer tutoring is the fact that it allows me time to learn how to be multiple versions of myself within the course of a single morning: I can get up at 6:30 a.m. with my wonderful husband, eat breakfast with him, pack up his lunch, and send him out the door with a kiss. Then I can take a leisurely nap and get up and get up around 9:00, whereupon I dance around while listening to music that Dane wouldn't usually listen to, like The Artic Monkeys and Bon Iver. Finally, I can get around to working on my lesson plans and head out the door to work to be a teacher-ish person.

Summer, in general, is like a giant rubber band season: you get to grow and re-learn and rediscover what you love and who you are... Maybe discover something new like: "Hey, being married to the person you love is awesome!"

This morning was pretty much exactly as described above. I was supposed to be tutoring a girl at 11:00 a.m and my boss was scheduled to observe me. However, when I got there this had fallen apart because my student forgot about our appointment (it happens). So, having the morning off now, I decided to walk over to the downtown square, grab a coffee at the cafe there (where I used to work) and chat with my very good friend who I knew would be working today.

When I got there, things weren't too busy, so she and I got to talk for awhile, and we got into discussing spiritual matters. She has been having some experiences lately which are quite obviously not natural, but supernatural, and she was telling me about them: what it was like, what she thought about it, and what others have told her it means.

While I am a Christian, and I don't use that word lightly, my friend is not-nor are the people with whom she has already discussed these experiences. Our discussion about dark and light soon became a bit ADD and loose-ended.
Partially because the business picked up at the coffee-shop, and partially because I've never had quite this kind conversation with her before, I feel like my words could have been so much better.

However, it was awesome to talk to my friend about the big things, and I'm sure it will lead to other honest discussions. I'm grateful for that, and I'm grateful that our friendship is strong enough to not be wounded by frankness and a different view of life and eternity.

 I learned something new through this experience. I've always tried to be clear with people about my "being Christian." However, my friend asked me some questions that made me realize that, even though someone may grow up in the church, have many Christian friends, and live in the "Bible belt," they still might not ever be presented with what the Bible has to say.


Here are a few things I want to say upon reflection of our discussion.


Christianity: It's a relationship, a romance, and oh...it's eternal


One of the things that sets Christianity apart is the fact that it truly is about mankind's connection with our creator.

Here's kind of the gist:

1. God, our Creator, made Adam and Eve first. He loved them and visited them face-to-face. He walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

2. God's children (Adam and Eve, then all of their descendents.....like me and you) hurt the heart of God by disobeying Him and choosing the allure of power over the protection and love of God.  Because they had become corrupt, they now had a spirit that put them in opposition to God. Not only do we inherit the sin of Adam and Eve, we add our own sins to the pot daily.

Sin: Anything that goes against the perfect standard God sets, simply by His existence and the fact that he created everying. Sin could therefore be viewed as anything that points us away from the perfection of God.
 Exodus 20:2-17 contains the 10 commandments:

 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus+20&version=CEV.

Anyone who has done any of these things has sinned. And sin makes us like oil-in-water with God. It wrecked our relationship with Him. Guess what? Neither you, nor I, nor Mother Theresa, Ghandi, or Albert Einstein escapes that curse. It's a defining element of human nature. 

3. The relationship was now tainted, and could not be the same as before. Now, there had to be a mediator, just so the people could talk to God. For many years, those who believed in God would need to sacrifice a spotless animal (often a lamb) which would be the payment for their sin. The blood of an innocent creature was the only way to temporarily cleanse them of their sins in the eyes of God.

This is not because we serve a blood-hungry God. No. How do I know? I know this because of what God did next.


4. After years and years of temporary sacrifices...it became known that God intended to rescue His people in a very permanent way. There came the predictions of a savior who would be " wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; … and with his stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53)

A man was going to die, taking the place of all those spotless animals and making himself a permanent solution for the way our sin had messed up our relationship with God. BUT not just any man. This man would be unlike any other who had ever walked the earth, because the only way for sin's price to permanently be paid was for God to put on human flesh, live life as a human, and die a horribly painful, unjust death that was the only acceptable, once-and-for-all payment for the sins of the world.
That man's name was Jesus.

 The most incredible romance. The most sacrificial thing that anyone could do for love. It's amazing, and it's hard to grasp, but that's what it is.And that's what God did.


5. The sacrifice, our way back to a relationship with God, was made by the person of Jesus. Because of his love for us, each person now has a choice about whether or not accept that sacrifice. If we accept it then we run back into God's open arms and commit to live lives which are in line with His perfect plan.

You see (and the church doesn't do a great job of explaining this) you DO NOT GO TO HEAVEN BECAUSE YOU ARE "GOOD". You go to Heaven because of your relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I am seen, by many, as good. But I know my heart and the places that my mind tends to go. I was reflecting upon the characteristics of Love as found in 1 Cor. recently and I fall so short of the bill. It is my prayer to grow closer to that image. Why? Not so I can go to heaven. I know I'm going to heaven because of what Christ has done. I don't fear death. As a Christian, my behavior is reflective of my desire to grow closer to God, to be more like the person He always meant for me to be.

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^{John 3:16 says:} For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.





*"Is the god that Christians worship different than other 'gods'?"

YES. The God of the Bible has a very distinct personality. It may seem weird to some people that we just call him "God" when other religions have names for their "gods."  In Hebrew, the word for God (we say "Yaweh" in church) was actually not to be spoken by the Jewish people because it was so holy, instead, they read it as "Adonai" which literally means "Lord." And you know, that name is sufficient because He is the Creator of the Universe (it all belongs to Him). He is perfect and all-knowing (We can trust what He says and we can trust what He says is good). He has His hand on everything (We don't have to worry).

"Why are you talking about Hebrew and the Jewish people? Weren't you talking about Christianity?"

Yes. Christians and the Jewish people acknowledge the same God/Creator. In fact, the whole OT concerns this amazing history God has with Israel, specifically! The Jews were God's first chosen people. Many Jewish people became Christians after Christ died on the cross. However, those who are Jewish (meaning those who subscribe to Judaism, not those who are of the Jewish nationality)  disagree that Christ was the savior predicted in Isaiah. Many Jews were expecting someone besides the average-looking, Jewish carpenter who would heal lepers and sacrificially lay down his life for a spiritual cleansing.