Belief "IN" God

Have you ever wondered who the first person to not believe in God was? Who was the first person to actually say, “No, I don’t believe in God?” What if believing in God was thought of differently then today? Maybe that person still believed that God existed, but they didn’t believe “in” him. And over the years that meaning was kind of just lost in time. Now people do not even believe that God exists. Could it be that, that one person just didn’t believe that God was with him and every one else? So they created other Gods, or idols. We see in the Bible that when Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai the people at the foot of the mountain have made a golden calf to worship. Moses is furious with them, so mad in fact that he smashes the tablets given to him by God. Now these people believed in God, they believed that he existed. I mean he had just rescued them from Egypt! Yet they didn’t believe “in” God anymore. How on earth could they lose faith in him that fast? They didn’t believe that he was with them so they made the golden calf to worship so that it could be present with them. That was in a short period of time that they lost faith, now multiply that by a few thousand years. Wow how faith has changed. Back then they knew that God existed but they did not believe “in” him. Now I believe “in” him even tho I do not know that he exists. Its like say I had a friend who’s life goal was to become a professional basketball player. I know that he exists, but I do not believe that he will accomplish that goal, I do not believe in him. That in a sense is how the people in the time of Moses felt about God, they didn’t believe that he was always with them so they made something that was. They know that God exists yet they still don’t believe in him. After he rescues them from Egypt they make another god. I bet God just thought to himself, “are you kidding me?” Looking back to then, how could they not believe “in” him? If they didn’t believe in him then how do we still do it today? They knew that he existed yet our faith “in” him is stronger than theirs. You would think that they would believe “in” him way more than us but that is not the case. Its like when you have something for awhile you tend to eventually take it for granted and are used to it, and eventually don’t even think about it anymore. If we knew for sure 100% that God was real would we be the same way that they were? We might take it for granted and not even think twice about it. Without knowing 100% that God exists we begin to wonder about Him. We ask questions and talk and discuss God. We read his word, the Bible, so that we can feel him. We long and desire for a relationship with him. Would it be the same way if we always saw him? He wants us to want a relationship with him and to know Him. To truly know him, not just to acknowledge that he exists. When we find and establish our belief in him we do get to know him. He wants us to find him. I know a lot of you who read this are saying, “but I do know 100% that he exists!” And yeah, I do to but that is because I have my foundation in him, I believe “in” him. Not everyone does. If he was fully present and visible to everyone would we want to have this kind of relationship with him? Would we believe that he was with us or would we end up like the people at the foot of the mountain? When we believe “in” him we discover Gods true existence. Not someone who is just at the top of the mountain but who is down at the base with all of us.

"Church Type"

A funny thing happened to me today. I went up to Saginaw Valley to hangout with one of my friends who goes to school there. His girlfriend was also there, which is fine with me. But when we were at dinner he told me that she was worried about me. Which was weird and naturally I asked why? He said that he had told her that I was the “church type” and thats why she was worried. I don’t understand why she would be worried. It’s not like I am gonna start ripping into her by preaching the fire and brimstone of hell! What is it about Christians that make people so uncomfortable at times? I am not going to be judgmental, which is a common stereotype of Christians. It would be very hypocritical for me to judge others because I am certainly not perfect, not even close. I guess that just kinda struck me funny when he said that. I don’t want that, because while I do go to church, I am not the “church type” that she is thinking about. I hope that while I was here and around her I showed Christ but in a different way then she thought of. Not in the judgmental, your going to hell if you don’t believe in God kind of way but rather in showing love through the way the I acted. I hope that I showed God’s love in my actions and that she could see Christ in me. I hope that she saw that Christians are not a group of judgmental hypocrites but people who have shortcomings just like everyone else does but who just have something more to there lives, how our lives are completed with God. Although we sin and have failures and shortcomings we are perfected in Christ.

Follower of Christ

Yesterday I went and talked to one of my professors after class and we were just casually talking about a book that I had mentioned and he asked me a question that really made me think. He knew that I wasn’t Catholic and that I was a theology major and he asked me if it bothered me studying theology at a Catholic college. I said, no I haven’t really come across any problems yet. He said well I was just wondering because I have been teaching Catholic Theology in this class. (The class is theology of christian marriage.) That took me off guard, I said, “Really?...oh.” I guess it hit me right then and there that I didn’t really know what the difference was. I mean we believe in the same God and yet there are all these differences between our “religions.” I was raised as christian reformed and thats what I had always identified myself as. Whenever some asked me if I was religious I would say yeah, Im christian. Then they would say back, ok what kind? People would usually say some variation of that and so then I would say, “Im christian reformed.” That always struck me as weird that people needed to ask that second question and that moment with my professor put it into perspective for me. Why is there this separation within the church? The more I thought about it I realized that I don’t really identify myself as christian reformed either. I’m simply a christian, a follower of the one true God and of Jesus Christ. I mean we all have the same Bible yet why are we so different? Jesus didn’t come to start a new religion or separate us, he came to unify us in God. I don’t necessarily identify myself as a christian in the traditional sense. I AM a follower of Jesus Christ. I follow the Bible and try to live my life the way Jesus showed us and try to live it in a way that honors God. I just don’t know if I like the thoughts and stereotypes that the term “christian” provokes. When people hear that term they think judgmental, hypocritical, condemnation and so on. I don’t like that, thats not what Jesus intended, yet people act this way and don’t truly live the way Jesus shows us. People say all the time how christians are hypocritical. And yeah, thats true. Everyone is hypocritical in their own right. Everyone is hypocritical because we are all flawed, we all have sin in us. The realization of this allows us to live our lives in the best way that we can in regards to what Jesus taught. The whole time knowing that we will make mistakes, we will seem hypocritical at times but thats just because of sin. If we really make an effort to live like Christ we will, we WILL to best that is possible for us, despite sin. That is why Jesus died on the cross for us, to forgive us of our sins, even when we are hypocritical. So I don’t know if I am a “christian” in the way that people always think of it. Instead of saying I am a christian I say that I am a follower of Jesus Christ. That takes away all of the different denominations within the church and gets to the root of what its really all about.
In the book of Matthew Jesus says, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) We as “christians” get so caught up in the traditions of the church and we sometimes miss the bigger picture. We even forget or maybe we never even knew where these traditions originated. We need to stop getting so caught up in these traditions and so caught up in the differences between church denominations and just follow Christ. Sometimes people say they are believers and they participate in all of the traditions of their particular church denomination but they are not truly christians. They don’t know what it means to be that. They are just going through the motions and not living the way that Jesus taught. They are still going down the broad road instead of getting to the root and meaning of their beliefs and taking the exit onto the narrow road. This is why so few people find it. They are distracted by all the traditions, glamour and even flaws of the “christian church.” Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying that we need to get rid of these traditions or anything, I am just saying that as followers of Christ we need to redefine what it truly means to be a christian. We need to get to the root of the religion and live it how it was meant to be. Jesus did not intend for us to be like this, separated from other believers by petty differences but for us to come together and follow him. Now I don’t really know what all the different denominations believe, or what the differences are, and I don’t care. Because I am simply a follower of Jesus Christ.