My Misunderstandings About Christianity
This week, I want to talk about something that I never really understood growing up as a Christian.
Aside from misunderstanding that Christianity was just a bunch of rules, versus the Truth that Jesus paid our debt to fulfill God’s laws & that obedience to Him is not to PROVE our faith to God, but as a way to live our faith in God. We believe, so we trust & obey….
But aside from that misunderstanding, I also mistakenly believed that Christianity had mostly to do with after death, in whether or not you will go to Heaven (eternal contentment & joy) or Hell (eternal restlessness & agony). I didn’t think God had much to do with our life before death, other than trying to “be a good person” as I believed it.
But I was wrong.
SO wrong.
There’s More to Life
And there are so many verses that point to this fact, including …… where it tells us that Jesus “came, not to condemn the world, but to save it” (John 3:17)… & “that we may have life & have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Also, consider the other, lesser talked about brother in the story of the Prodigal Son, how his father told him, in essence, “you had all of this the whole time.” (Luke 15:31)
Do we really live like we believe that God wants for us more than just to “get through life” so we can experience Heaven when we die?
His Beautiful Design
Think about how God designed & created us with our senses & then extravagantly designed & created this world with so much unique beauty for our senses to appreciate, where every one of the same flower is recognizable as that type of flower, but comes in many shades & height & sizes & colors. Everything is unique & beautiful to behold. (Genesis 1)
Or, remember that God created in advance good works for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
HE planned them. HE arranged them.
And HE provides what we need when we need it & lean into Him for it. (2 Peter 1:3)
Be Being Filled
In Ephesians 5:18, God tells us to “BE FILLED with the Spirit.” (emphasis mine)
And to clarify, the Holy Spirit is with every single person who has submitted their life to God through accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior, but this verb of “Be Filled” has a deeper meaning.
This verb actually has the understanding of “be BEING filled.”
In other words, while the Holy Spirit is WITH us & is made available to every single person who has accepted Jesus Christ, we are called to this “BE BEING FILLED” idea.
We are called to submit to His lead in every relationship, in every conversation, in every task, in every decision, in every day.
We are called to lean into Him in EVERYTHING.
We Are But a Branch
This is why we are told to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) & to ABIDE (stay, continue) IN CHRIST as a branch to our Vine (John 15:4).
The Bible even warns us about living as “wise in our own eyes.” (Isaiah 5:21)
Submit every preconception, every “way I grew up/was raised”, every assumption, every ideal, etc. under God’s authority & say-so, because where we can err, He will never.
Tuck everything you think you know into His unchanging, infallible Truth.
He Can
And where we drain & deplete & come up as insufficient, He does not.
He can provide peace where only chaos reigns.
He can redirect our misunderstandings to the truth.
He can see the thoughts & intentions we cannot.
He can see how this will ripple effect a future beyond our lifespan.
He knows it all.
And He is infinite. Powerful. Almighty.
He alone is Good (Mark 10:18). He is Love (1 John 4:8). He is faithful even when we are not (2 Timothy 2:13).
“Now to Him [God] who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church & in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever & ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
We need to submit to this command of be BEING filled, a continual filling, a continual leading, & a continual submission to His Lordship.
God Is All-Sufficient for Our Needs
I cannot even tell you how many times I thought I “needed” something other than God to fulfill me… something not quite in line with the impossible standard God commanded. (Impossible because I was trying to live it in my own wisdom, power, & understanding… aka without His help.)
I missed the mark (sinned). I chose my way, my solution, my “wisdom.”
And there were always unforeseen consequences… fine print.
What I yearned after never fulfilled me, but left me always searching for more… I felt like something was empty & off in my life… I felt restless & discontented.
Until it dawned on me, “Wait. If God made me… & He knows literally everything… Wouldn’t He KNOW what’s best for me in this? Shouldn’t I drop my way & try His? Doesn’t that make sense?”
Sins –> Harmful Fine Print –> Turning to His Way –> Blessings
And guess what, this has always worked in every area where I was compromising to get what I thought I was missing from God, getting hurt by the consequences of a wrong solution, to turning to God’s way & realizing the blessings His way brought me.
… with flirting to gain approval & to “end” my insecurities (only to be left feeling trapped that if I don’t keep playing the game, I lose)… with turning to fantasies because it felt less vulnerable than dealing with assault trauma from my past… with turning to tv/games/numbing myself vs turning to God in my despairing moments, including fights with depression…
With all of those above examples, when I had that realization that “God made me… knows everything… would know what I need…” & I STOPPED my “wisdom” for HIS… I found the hope I was so desperately searching for.
We need to submit to Him because only He actually knows what we need.
We Need to Submit to Him–Continually
We need to submit to Him because only He knows what we were designed & created for (because we were designed & created BY GOD.)
We need to submit to Him because ONLY He has any real authority over anything in life.
He alone is King.
He alone is GOD ALMIGHTY.
And only He loves you infinitely/unconditionally, sent Jesus to willingly pay your debts to Him, & knows you better than you could ever know yourself.
Be BEING Filled. Submit to Him in EVERYTHING.
Our Part in Life… Letting HIM Shine
Because 100% He knows better & already has a plan in place.
You just have to be willing to follow His lead, with His help.
That’s it. That’s your part.
You shine Hope by letting HIM shine through YOU.
Coming Next Week
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Moonstone Hoops (India)
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