A Great Facade

At the heart of my non-spiritual spiritual walk was a desire to be thought-of as a spiritual man. I wanted people to think I had it going on, even when I did not. Or, perhaps I had a few things going on, but for the most part, it was an intellectual exercise. The intellectual side of Christianity has some merit, after all. We are to study to show ourselves approved unto God, right?

Discussing the differences between eastern and western thinking with a friend yesterday, it reminded me that we often miss it here 'in the west'. We've been taught that it is good - no, great - to know what the teacher knows. But in the east, it's great to be like the teacher. I've had success at learning what most bible teachers know, but I've had only limited success in being like Jesus - the great Teacher.

I hang out with a group of Christian men who can see through the intellectual side of it all. Knowing a few more bible verses than they do (not that I do, personally) really does not impress them. Carrying a worn-out bible does not impress them, either. I've found that leaving your bible in the trunk of your car over time creates a nice, well-worn effect. In fact... they are God-seekers, and they are used to seeing God work. As a result, they simply aren't that impressed with 'anything' I do. Who would be, after seeing God work?

But these guys totally dig seeing God work in me. They know me... and they know God... they can darn-sure tell the difference. Having said all that, I encourage everyone to seek the Lord in new and greater ways this year. If you haven't gone to a place of service or worship where you are out of your comfort zone, do it. For those who are plugged in to Him, facades aren't worth much. None of us think anyone really has it all together. The more we know, the more we realize it's all Him or bust. There is nothing with the stamp of this world on it that is worth having.

Not Belonging

Ever feel like you don't belong? Totally out of place?

Maybe you've seen Rambo - any of them. Remember his beef with society? He goes through the harsh realities of war and then comes back to the states and tries to fit in. He can't. He's not accepted.

Or.. there was a Lord of the Rings trilogy on TV tonight. At the end, the hobbits go back to the Shire and they find themselves just staring at each other in the pub. They used to fit in, but after all that had transpired, they no longer did.

In both cases, the 'people' involved had lived through a reality that the rest of their peers had not. They'd been somewhere different - somewhere that had changed them.

When you have a God-encounter, just going through the motions of church-as-usual is just a waste. It's worse than a come-down. It's just so religious... isn't it?

Lest anyone think I'm speaking from atop a high horse... don't. It's not about that at all... it's not about me. Really, I'm just trying to make clear what it feels like to pretend because I've been there done that. I'd save others the trouble, if I could. If anyone reading this ever feels like it's just 'church as usual', drop me a line and we can chat about what it might mean to feel different. Are there churches you can go to where they aren't pretending? Naturally, I can't speak for everyone in the pews, but yes - there are churches who have leadership that care more about Jesus and His Kingdom than they do about themselves. Don't give up on all the disciples just because one went bad. And don't give up on one because 11 went bad...