Honesty

[Deanna Christine Skiles]

Just wanted to throw out this quote from C. S. Lewis' book The Weight of Glory:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased."

[Deanna Christine Skiles]

I'm afraid I don't recall the exact text, but the Scriptures say that by beholding the glory of God we are transformed from one degree of glory to the next... so by better grasping and observing the nature and character of God - even the culturally uncomfortable parts - affection for him is greater stirred.

But in Romans 8:29 and 30, Paul lays it out that we are clearly the passive agent in our salvation - which makes the Gospel even more spectacular.  Teaching and guiding can only do so much - the Holy Spirit has to activate the heart - set fire to the kindling - in order for that affection to really be able to take place.  I believe that constantly coming back to the grace and mercy and our inability to obtain salvation on our own in the Gospel can help us get started down that path - faith comes through hearing (isn't that in Hebrews?)  Didn't Paul constantly in his letters scream the gospel to those who already knew it?  Assuming the gospel leads to a twisted version of Christianity that is much more like moralistic deism.  Teaching morality or "here's your takeaway" can sometimes jump-start the "inoculation" - where I'm being asked to white-knuckle my behavior, but I'm not asked to let my heart be transformed and I'm not constantly reminded that I'm NOT the point of the Bible, God's glory is.

So, despite my previous 20+ years of being raised to be and then calling myself a "Christian," I can honestly say I never knew Him until the past 4 months or so.  He was just an idea, not a reality. (Which I believe is the biggest hurdle for people my age.)  And until I walked through the book of Habakkuk, I'd say that Christ would have said "I never knew you" to me up until a couple of weeks ago.

[James Nored]

Too true! What do you think can cure this innoculation?

[Deanna Christine Skiles]

I think it runs deeper than just those who struggle with addictions. I think in general many individuals in the body of Christ grow lazy in their pursuit of Him... We settle for acts of morality and church attendance, and if we aren't careful we end up inoculating ourselves to the Gospel. We give ourselves just enough of Jesus to never actually know Him.

[James Nored]

Yes, Deanna, we settle for the worst sometimes. It is hard for us to believe or trust in the promises of God. Addictions are our attempts to self-medicate and get through life. But it does not work well, and leaves us with many problems and heartaches.