Confessions & Introductions

Hi. So I have this extra special friend. His name is Jesus. You might have heard of Him before from someone at that place people call church, or your parents, or maybe even one of your classmates. Now, I don’t know exactly what you’ve heard about Him, but sometimes people say and do crazy things that are really misleading about who Jesus is. If it’s okay with you, I’d really like to clear this up and get a few things off my chest at the same time.

So, I want to confess a few things. I want to say I’m sorry for what Christianity has been and for what it is now, and for not doing anything about it. To some of you, Christianity means the Crusades. It means being persecuted for having different ideas. It means being yelled at by your teacher(s) at a Christian school. It means being bullied by the president of FCA. It means being beaten by your Christian parents. It means being molested by a minister. The point is, Christianity means something different to each person, and that something is not always positive. What’s worse is that when I try to defend that term, I just make those people with negative experiences of Christianity even more repulsed by and angry at the thought of being a Christian, and for that, I am extremely sorry. I want you to know, Jesus doesn’t stand for any of those things, and I don’t want to defend the term anymore.

I want to say I’m sorry for misrepresenting Jesus. He says to love my neighbor as myself, yet my actions show plainly that I am addicted to myself. He says to feed the homeless, take care of orphans and widows, and respect my parents, but I fail miserably at all of these things. Jesus never uses His faith in God to justify His political stances, but I do it all the time. Jesus says to love people all the time, no matter what, and He does just that, without passing judgment on people. Unfortunately, I catch myself thinking things like, “I bet he’s a drunk,” or “I just know she’s on welfare.” I’m sorry if my words or actions have given you a negative perception of Jesus.

I would much rather defend Jesus than Christianity, so right now, I’d like to straighten a few things out. Jesus is alive. He is a person, just like you and me. He thinks, He breathes, He moves, He has emotions, just like you and me. He is not trendy, and He is most certainly not the most popular kid on the block. He is a very straight-forward person; when you do something wrong, He lets you know. Usually, He is very kind and gentle, but sometimes, He gets really upset. (Again, He has emotions, just like us.) However, what’s really awesome is that when you do mess up, Jesus doesn’t rub it in; He rubs it out, completely. He loves His dad, and He loves people. Believe it or not, Jesus likes me, and He likes you, too. That’s right. You were picked last in P.E.? Your fingernails aren’t manicured? You aren’t tan, you aren’t slim, and your skin isn’t clear? You missed the game-winning shot and failed your math test? That’s okay. Jesus looks past that. He knows what you really need, and if you let Him, He CAN and WILL help you. Just ask Him.

Now, I know people make Jesus sound like He’s this guy that desperately wants to punish you for messing up (or even because He’s entertained watching you squirm), but in reality, He’s this guy that desperately wants to meet you, and moreover, desperately wants a relationship with you. He wants to be your best friend. He wants to change your life for the better. If you’d like, I can introduce you to Him sometime.

Perspective & Perception

We interrupt this program on WACK-FM to bring you an urgent message from our sponsor, Matthew Golson:

You know what, America? I woke up this morning and couldn’t help but think, “I am soooooooo important.” Like seriously, you don’t get just how phenomenal I am. You know, I feel fortunate, being born this awesome and all, but I feel sorry for you because you are soooooooo insignificant. I mean, I’m soooooooo much better than you. What makes me more colossal than you? Just look around! This is my world, and you’re just living in it. I’m the world’s greatest! How did I get here? The answer is very clear; my better is better than your better, plain and simple. I know how discouraging and demeaning that sounds (actually I don’t; I’m on a much higher level and incapable of empathizing), but don’t fret; you aren’t the only one living in my shadow, which could very well blot out the sun if I wanted it to. But you know what? I’m feeling compassionate. Perhaps I’ll share some of my perfection with you one day. But enough about you. In order to celebrate my significance (and I can’t believe I’m saying this), we need to lower it down a notch. Take the time today to bow your head, close your eyes, and attempt to fathom my perfection by having a moment of silence for those who are not me. Thank you. And thank me.

I know most people do not sound like that, and if I do, I give you permission to slap me twice. However, while people may not actually say those things, their actions scream them. Quite often, my perspective is so narrow that my perception of myself is drastically different from that of reality. Pride alters my perspective and perception so that I become too important to cook dinner or take out the trash. My time becomes too precious to “waste” on helping a friend, my parents, or complete strangers. Pride creates a sense of entitlement that says, “I deserve more attention than he does,” or when I receive a compliment on a job well done, my reaction is “Well it’s about time somebody noticed.”

Perspective and perception are the topics of this post, and while they may be similar, let’s define them so we may understand their differences in application.

• Perspective (n):  the appearance of objects, buildings, etc., relative to each other as determined by their distance from the viewer, or the effects of this distance on their appearance.
• Perception (n):  the process by which an organism detects and interprets information from the external world by means of sensory receptors.

In other words, perspective is the viewpoint from which we gather information, whereas perception is how we interpret that information. Now, watch this video and see if your perspective and perception change a little. (It’s best if you can view it in full screen).

Pretty amazing, huh? Let’s widen our perspective a little more. The images captured allow us to see 13 billion light-years away. A light-year is how far light travels in one year. Light travels at 300,000,000 meters per second. There are 31,536,000 seconds in one year. So, light travels 9,460,800,000,000,000 meters in one year. Now, multiply that number by 13 billion. (You can use a calculator. I won’t hold it against you if you can’t do the math in your head). So, there are 122,990,400,000,000,000,000,000,000 meters and counting between us and the object farthest away on the images taken less than a decade ago. Wow. Now, consider the possibility that if man were ever to travel to the end of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, he could find another 13 billion light-years of universe. Don’t forget, the telescope was pointed at a section of space as small as a grain of sand held out at arm’s length. Oh, and one more thing:  the light captured by the telescope started traveling this way billions of years ago. Who knows if those galaxies still exist today?

Feeling small? I am. After seeing the pictures taken by the Hubble telescope, my perspective widened just a little, and my perception of myself was altered greatly. I am starting to understand how ridiculously miniscule I am and just how infinite God is. It seems ironic and also tragic that I live my life as if I am the biggest, most important being in the entire universe, when I am actually nothing but dust. My life is only a breath. I don’t know why, but I get the funny feeling that this isn’t about me.

“He said to me I was a tree in a story about a forest and that it was arrogant of me to believe any differently. And he told me the story of the forest is better than the story of the tree.”  – Donald Miller

God, thank You for allowing me the privilege of being a tree in a story about Your forest. Many times I forget that the story is not about me. Please forgive me for my serious lapses in judgment. Thank You for placing much larger trees in Your forest to remind me of Your might. Grant me Your perspective and Your perception. Provide me wisdom, so that pride may be filtered out of my thoughts, speech, and actions. Give me faith and strength to humbly pursue righteousness. May the splendorous works of Your hands lead me to fear and worship You for eternity. Amen.

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

“He has caused his wonders to be remembered. The LORD is gracious and compassionate.” Psalm 111:4

“Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” Job 38:31-33

Relationships

God knows our relationships, particularly our romantic ones, are perhaps the most important relationships in our lives, outside of one with Him. Honestly, I think He understands the gravity of our relationships more than we do; I think that is why He put some of His best counseling material on the second and third pages of the Bible. Let's take a look.

God created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden to "work it and take care of it." However, God notices that "it is not good for the man to be alone." God says, "I will make a helper suitable for him." "Now," Moses writes, "the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air. But for Adam no suitable helper was found" (Genesis 2:19-20).

This is where the story gets interesting. God notices that Adam has a need, and instead of meeting that need, He brings all the animals of the earth to Adam to see what he would name them. I don't think God was suffering from writer's block; He brought every animal on earth to Adam with a purpose. Why? The answer is in the last sentence of verse 20. "But for Adam no suitable helper was found."

God brought all the animals to Adam as an exhibition, a showcase. It's like He was saying, "You are the pinnacle of My creation. There is no creature on earth like you. You are the only being created in My image. You are alone."

Can you imagine the loneliness? Think of a time your friends excluded you from their plans; this man did not even have friends to exclude him from their plans. Think of a time you got lost at a fair or in a department store; this man had no clue what it means to be found. He was truly alone.

After Adam names the animals, God puts him in a deep sleep and removes a rib from his side. From this rib, God creates Adam's helper; "...he brought her to the man. The man said, 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man.'"

It's important to understand that what Adam says here is formatted like poetry. It was an outpouring of his heart and soul, a statement infinitely more intimate and pure than the sum of everything Hollywood has ever manufactured.

You see, God directed Adam's steps in such a way that by the time he finally had a helper, he would have the utmost love, respect, and honor for her. In a world where the passion and intimacy of another man or woman can be bought on the street or accessed with the click of a mouse button, we lose respect for each other. We view each other as objects, as things to be had. When we get bored, we throw out our old play thing and move on to something new. We are without love and honor.

I think one of the leading causes of failed relationships is our understanding of relationships. We tend to view relationships as linear. This picture is what I mean by "linear."

The problem with linear relationships is that there is no common goal, or middle ground, between the people involved.

Selfish people try to establish the middle ground as close to them as possible, and, usually, passive people go along with it. Sometimes, passive people draw the line closer to themselves, and relationship tug-of-war commences. Other times, passive people just keep going further and further to meet the needs of the selfish person. Either way, the relationship usually turns abusive, whether physically, emotionally, or both.

In order to have a successful relationship, you must form a love triangle.

With Jesus at the pinnacle of this relationship, we have a common goal, or middle ground. So, the closer I get to Jesus and the closer you get to Jesus, the closer we get to each other. Pretty sweet, huh?

Be patient. Everything happens at the appointed time. God had to show Adam all of creation before he was ready to be in a relationship.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23

Image

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to switch places with chimpanzees? What if God started a new show called “Life Swap,” where he removed chimps from their habitats, placed humans there instead, and let the primates take care of Earth for a while?

There are only two types of chimpanzee in the world: Pan troglodytes and Pan paniscus. I have to wonder if they would categorize us just like we have categorized them. I wonder how they would decide to differentiate us, especially if they only chose two categories. Would it be black and white? Ugly and beautiful? Aggressive and passive? Wealthy and poor? Popular and outcast? What about our homes, or our cars, or maybe our clothes? What about our diets? Vegan? Carnivore? Omnivore? Burgervore? (Tee hee). What if it is simply by where we live? Or our musical tastes? Or our recreational choices? How about Christian and unchristian? I wonder how they would decide who is Christian and who is un-Christian. Do you think they would choose outward appearance? What about social interactions? They might choose private behavior.

I remember the months both preceding and proceeding my spiritual awakening. I remember all of my misconceptions about the Christian lifestyle. I remember thinking that since a change occurred on the inside, a change needed to occur on the outside. I remember deciding for myself that the change needed to be my image.

At Autauga Academy, seventh and eighth grade classes are required to take a Bible class as an elective for both semesters. Aside from the children’s Bible on my bookshelf, with extra large print and illustrations on practically every other page, I had never had my own copy of God’s Word. I panicked a little bit when I realized how un-cool it would be for a 13 year old to carry around a children’s Bible in a school building where seniors were present. However, Mom came through for me; she had an old paperback NIV that was suitable, though I did find the cover a little girly. Needless to say, my distaste for the cover art and teenage neglect created a Bible-by-volume effect that left me Scripture-less by December. In haste, on my way to a basketball game in Montgomery, I stopped at a bookstore, grabbed a blue, hardback TNIV, handed it to my mom, and then got in the car. I did stop and think, “Maybe I should read it first.” So I flipped to Matthew, read the red-letter text to make sure the book had some red ink in it because I thought, “That’s what all good Christians have,” and then I decided it would work.

A few years later, I had another Bible “crisis.” After God revealed to me how spiritually dead I was, I thought “Well, I guess that was caused, in part, by not having a Christian-looking Bible.” See, all my friends whom I knew to be followers of Christ had Bibles not only with red-letter text, but also leather covers. I thought, “I need to find a leather Bible. Not anything big, but something that can fit in my back pocket. But it has to have all 66 books.” So, I hopped in the truck and headed to Books-A-Million (you guys can pay me for product placement later). I headed straight to the “Christian Living” section, found the Bibles, and began a thorough examination of all the books on the shelves. I decided I wanted a leather, red-letter, pocket-sized NIV. After a few minutes, I found one that met all my physical criteria, so I cracked it open where the silk bookmark was and began to read about Peter’s miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12. After reading, I checked the price tag, which valued the book at a ridiculously exorbitant amount. I didn’t care. I said, “This is God’s word, right? It’s priceless. This is a good deal.” So, after paying $27.86 for my “Christian” Bible, I exited as a satisfied young man.

I think it goes without saying that it did not make me a “better” Christian. It didn’t make me look more Christian. In fact, it probably made people wonder, “What the heck is he cramming in his back pocket? Is that a steel plate? Is he afraid something’s going to bite his butt, like Forest Gump?”

            After a few months, I decided that I didn’t like the leather Bible, so I started using the blue Bible, which I still use today. Of course, I had one more incident. I spent $13, 2 gallons of gas, and 60 minutes finding a “Christian” Bible cover. “Hi, my name is Matt Golson, and I’m a recovering Bibleholic.”

I remember thinking that if I was going to change my physical appearance, I’d have to get some different threads. I never actually committed to it, but I entertained the thought of getting flannel. Lots of flannel. Not the old man flannel either. I wanted the “I’m-a-cool,-hip,-popular,-Christian flannel.” If I remember correctly, the people on the cover of “EC” were my starting point. I figured if I could dress more like them and less like me, people would be able to tell Christ changed me, without me having to do anything to show them. If I was the ultimate Christian, I’d be a Kris Allen with red hair.

I remember at youth group a few weeks ago, I felt less Christian because I did not know the words to a song. Usually the laptop and projector are set up so the lyrics can be displayed to help everyone follow along with the band. However, the computers at the church office crashed earlier that day, so I had no guide. This was not the first time I had felt less Christian because I had not spent enough time on christianlyrics.com, but it was the most recent. I remember thinking, “I wonder what they think when they see me mumbling words instead of actually singing along. I bet if they looked at my iPod they would expect to see nothing but Kanye West, Eminem, and My Chemical Romance on the ‘Most Played’ list.”

I remember various Sunday services and how I did not feel like a good Christian because I wasn’t raising my hand during the music, or putting anything in the offering plate, or filling out a connect card, or focusing during the message, or remembering to speak to someone after the service, or…

If chimps are as smart as biologists believe them to be, they would use the Bible to classify people as Christian and unchristian.

It is so perplexing how powerful the enemy is. For a long time I let materialism, insecurity, and pride plague my spiritual life (and unfortunately, I still do). All of the things I thought I was doing to become a “better” Christian were actually distracting me from being a true follower of Christ. Flannel shirts don’t make me more available to the Holy Spirit. Song lyrics don’t atone for my sin. Scripture in a book is not the same as Scripture in the heart.

I urge you, open up your Bible, no matter what it looks like, no matter what you look like. Read Matthew 5-7, or Galatians, or Ephesians, or Philippians, or Corinthians, or Genesis, or Ruth, or any other book; there’re 66 of them. We are not meant to look Christian, we are meant to be Christian! Each one of us is supposed to be a miniature Jesus, copying Him in every way we possibly can. Read the gospels. Tell me, how many times does Jesus say, “If you want to follow me, you have to have a leather Bible and an extensive knowledge of music about me. And if you sign on in the next seven minutes, I’ll throw in a free flannel shirt,”?

Please, don’t spend your life trying to look like a Christian; spend your life being a Christian! Whether or not you realize it, this life is our chance to prepare for eternity. Why spend it pretending? Why spend it only appearing to be something you are not? Delight in God; He will give you the desires of your heart!

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10