An elderly saint received a university professor who came to
inquire about The Way.
The professor began to talk about all his ideas and opinions
about life, religion and society.
As the saint served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full,
and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could
restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”
“Like this cup,” The saint said, “you are full of
your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you The Way unless you first
empty your cup?”
Perhaps the most important thing to realize is that our “worldview” is so deeply embedded in our consciousness, in the habits of our
lives, and in our social practices that to question one’s worldview is to
question “reality” itself. - James Davison Hunt (To Change the World)
I remember when I came to Jesus. I was told the truth, my
destiny was hell, eternal separation from God. I needed fire insurance. I've
always had a sense of the value of my life, my existence. For the must part, as I grew up, I had this inner value of pricelessness about my existence. I didn't
understand death but I knew life. The life force that animated me. Because of
this I can remember, with a sense of purpose, avoiding some behaviors in the
circumstances of living.
For example, in my early teens some of the friends I
hung around with one evening wanted to take acid. They tried pier pressure as
soon as they saw me being hesitant. My inner thoughts at that moment were, I
didn't want to have a bad trip that could permanently lead to bad trip episodes
the rest of my life at random unpredictable times. How did I know that? I
didn't. This was just one of those stories that floated around the teen social
circles of my time. It was enough of a story, to me, that if there was a chance
of that happening, my brain wasn't worth it. My brain is an important part of
my existence. I think it was easy for me to believe in God because of the
marvelous uniqueness of life to me. Was this view a result of a privileged
life? That depends of your definition of privileged.
I grew up a military brat. My dad worked two jobs during my
time living under his roof, till about the time I went into the Air Force at
age 17. My parents socialized. There was always drinking and smoking
cigarettes. No pot. Nothing really out of control. I'd say typical American
social gatherings. Like barques on Indy 500 race day. Christmas party's with
the neighbors. Halloween parties. Things like these. I was recruited to set up
for these events.
To a certain degree, my dad was more absentee than present
in my growing up years. My mom was a stay at home mom. Always there. But never did
the helicopter mom thing. I had what you might describe as a very long leash. I
hung out with whomever I wanted too. I could go where ever I wanted too as long
as it was within my means. My parents argued out load but when I was in bed. I
heard them.
My peers play a big roll in shaping my thought process which
could also be described as cultures influence on my thought process about my
interactions as a citizen of the nation I belonged to.
Believe me I did my share of stupid things but never to
stupid where my life was in a position where I didn't have some kind of control
over my body. Not every moment of my life was governed this way. There where
moments that some would call luck and others might call intervention. I can't
say one way or the other at this time. However, by some standards I was a good
citizen.
I didn't have some sheltered lifestyle that inculcated this
priceless value I put on life. We were not a religious family at all. So when
someone came to me and told me about God, immortality of the soul and eternal
life, I was open to what they had to say. To me, It was a means to an end. The
preservation of my life forever and the avoidance of eternal death. This fire
insurance was free. What really locked me in was once I was in I could never
leave or get kicked out. I was sold. I said the sinners prayer. But this was a
choice which foundation was selfish.
You see, I came to Jesus with a full cup not an empty cup.
My lifestyle didn't really change other than the new moniker of Christian. This
went on for awhile. Jesus was more or less a Genie in the Bottle for me.
However, I was eventually taught the truth about what must take place to become
a born again citizen of the Kingdom of God.
I'm not unique in my experience when it comes to having a
gospel message that is presented as a means to an personal end. It's that
gospel message that says, "Come to Jesus. He'll fix your marriage, your
finances, your kids, your relationships. He will bring healing, find peace,
joy, love, freedom, happiness."
Some people come to you just for the acquisition of
knowledge.
Some people come to you just to argue.
Some people come to you looking for something new.
Some people come to you from a means to and end.
I came to Jesus for what he had to offer not for Jesus
himself. As a result my Christianity was superficial. I know I'm not alone in
this religious Christian experience. This resulted in me living with 1 foot
planted in the world and 1 foot planted in the Christian culture.
I created a Jesus in my own image instead of the image we fined in Scripture. He was a Jesus that was OK with me sinning now and asking for forgiveness later. He was a Jesus that was wrapped in the red, white and blue and on the GOP's side of the political isle. He was a patriot for the American way. Instead of loving your enemy, He was Ok with killing your enemy. As a result of this Jesus,
I was like new wine being poured into old wineskins. It
seemed like I was always patching up holes in my life. There came a time in my
life that I needed to take the words of Jesus to heart. Where I needed to
believe what was being said in the Scriptures instead of looking for ways to
explain away what the Bible said. I had to empty myself of my preconceived
ideas, the dictates of the institutionalized religions around me and believed
in the perspicuity of the Bible. This resulted in a transformation of my soul
and barriers being erected with friends that I called Christians. I went from a cultural
Christianity to an authentic relationship with Jesus. A relationship that
transcends culture. A relationship that puts me at odds with some people around me. I took to heart what Jesus said in Luke.
In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything
he has cannot be my disciple. - Luke 14:33 (NIV)
We must give up everything in order to become a follower of
Jesus Christ. There must be a complete emptying of self in order to be born
again. If this sounds like it’s more than just the sinners prayer, it is.
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