[Note from the management: This post is a bit of a step away from the norm for this site. In it, I list several Bible verses (without typing out the full content of the verse) and ask questions about the verses assuming you’ve read them. Reading the Bible verses is not required, but it makes the whole thing make more sense. That said, the staff here at IKCRN* humbly requests you play along and dust off your Bible.]
I’ve always been interested in what people expect from Christianity. I’m not asking why people believe what they believe, that’s a related, yet distinctly different, issue. What I’m asking is, now that you believe, what do you expect from your newly found (or long held) Christian life to be like? In other words, what do you expect Christ to do for you?
Thus far, I’ve found two extreme options. In option number one, the person in question believes that Christians will lead a blessed life. They believe that Christianity is the key to living life the way it should be lived, and that Christians will excel in all areas of life: love, wealth, ease of living, etc. Option two is the polar opposite. The people who hold to option two believe that true Christianity is lived in poverty, persecution, and general crappiness tempered only by the unfailing and uplifting love of Christ.
Option One: Gold, Girls, and God
Biblical support (with questions because that makes it more fun):
[Matthew 7:9-11] Jesus said that God wants to give us good things. What do you think he meant by that? (Are fast cars good? Is love good? Is getting promoted good? etc.)
[Proverbs 14:14] What kind of reward do you think that God will give the good man in this verse? Is that a monetary thing? Is it a love thing? Companionship? Think concrete. Don’t just say “blessed” because that’s a cop-out and not an answer.
[Proverbs 28:25] This verse says that if I turn to the Lord, I’ll prosper. How?
[Job 42:12-13] If you said that the blessings or prosperity mentioned in the verses that preceded this one were more spiritual or emotional than financial, is Job an exception to that rule?
Option Two: Blood, Sweat, and Toil (All this can be yours, and more!)
Biblical support (because God’s opinion matters more than mine):
[Philippians 3:10-14] Is Paul a masochist? What sane man wants to suffer? Explain.
[Romans 8:17-18] Christ was glorified in his resurrection from the dead. He was further glorified when he ascended to Heaven. He will be eternally glorified when he returns to earth leading the armies of Heaven. Question: does Christianity only benefit you when you die or when Christ returns?
[Matthew 7:13-14] If Christianity is an easy road that leads to riches (which would be one way to interpret the end of Job), how does this verse work into it?
[Matthew 5:11-12] Is this verse promising persecution or providing comfort for when you’re persecuted?
Conclusion:
Raise your hand if you think that the Bible seems a bit contradictory about the fiduciary pros and cons of Christianity.** Making it all work together requires so much legalistic chicanery that my head hurts trying to keep it all in view at once. I led a Bible study once using the above outline. As the study progressed, I was struck by the focus of the discussion. It was a series of personal pronouns, a string of “I”s and “me”s. The group I was in was not a group of new Christians. These were men (it was a men’s Bible study) whose opinions I respected. And yet, as the minutes slipped into hours, I couldn’t help but notice that our focus was not on Christ but on what Christ would or would not give us. We were a group of Christian men trying to study Christ, and we couldn’t take our eyes off what was in His hand long enough to look Him in the face.
I realize that statement it seems a bit unfair. After all, the focus of the evening was what we expect from Christ as Christians. But, as with all things in our Christian walk, the focus must be on Christ and becoming more like Him. The moment we take our eyes off Him and start debating minutia that is only distantly related to Him, we stop discussing Christianity and begin studying a religion of rules. That’s the legalistic chicanery I mentioned earlier.
That said, what do you believe? Are you option one or option two? Are you something else? I’ll tell you what I believe. I expect Christ to bless me. I praise Him when He does. I expect life to be hard: full of pain, blood, sweat, and general unpleasantness. I praise Christ when He sits by my side in those times, provides the comfort necessary to go on. But joy or sorrow, blessing or suffering, living or dying, my focus is on Christ. This Christian walk of ours isn’t about what we get out of it. Never has been.
*It’s really just me. But it sounds more official if I say, “the staff,” instead of, “the dude typing this.”
**You don’t actually have to raise your hand.
I’ve always been interested in what people expect from Christianity. I’m not asking why people believe what they believe, that’s a related, yet distinctly different, issue. What I’m asking is, now that you believe, what do you expect from your newly found (or long held) Christian life to be like? In other words, what do you expect Christ to do for you?
Thus far, I’ve found two extreme options. In option number one, the person in question believes that Christians will lead a blessed life. They believe that Christianity is the key to living life the way it should be lived, and that Christians will excel in all areas of life: love, wealth, ease of living, etc. Option two is the polar opposite. The people who hold to option two believe that true Christianity is lived in poverty, persecution, and general crappiness tempered only by the unfailing and uplifting love of Christ.
Option One: Gold, Girls, and God
Biblical support (with questions because that makes it more fun):
[Matthew 7:9-11] Jesus said that God wants to give us good things. What do you think he meant by that? (Are fast cars good? Is love good? Is getting promoted good? etc.)
[Proverbs 14:14] What kind of reward do you think that God will give the good man in this verse? Is that a monetary thing? Is it a love thing? Companionship? Think concrete. Don’t just say “blessed” because that’s a cop-out and not an answer.
[Proverbs 28:25] This verse says that if I turn to the Lord, I’ll prosper. How?
[Job 42:12-13] If you said that the blessings or prosperity mentioned in the verses that preceded this one were more spiritual or emotional than financial, is Job an exception to that rule?
Option Two: Blood, Sweat, and Toil (All this can be yours, and more!)
Biblical support (because God’s opinion matters more than mine):
[Philippians 3:10-14] Is Paul a masochist? What sane man wants to suffer? Explain.
[Romans 8:17-18] Christ was glorified in his resurrection from the dead. He was further glorified when he ascended to Heaven. He will be eternally glorified when he returns to earth leading the armies of Heaven. Question: does Christianity only benefit you when you die or when Christ returns?
[Matthew 7:13-14] If Christianity is an easy road that leads to riches (which would be one way to interpret the end of Job), how does this verse work into it?
[Matthew 5:11-12] Is this verse promising persecution or providing comfort for when you’re persecuted?
Conclusion:
Raise your hand if you think that the Bible seems a bit contradictory about the fiduciary pros and cons of Christianity.** Making it all work together requires so much legalistic chicanery that my head hurts trying to keep it all in view at once. I led a Bible study once using the above outline. As the study progressed, I was struck by the focus of the discussion. It was a series of personal pronouns, a string of “I”s and “me”s. The group I was in was not a group of new Christians. These were men (it was a men’s Bible study) whose opinions I respected. And yet, as the minutes slipped into hours, I couldn’t help but notice that our focus was not on Christ but on what Christ would or would not give us. We were a group of Christian men trying to study Christ, and we couldn’t take our eyes off what was in His hand long enough to look Him in the face.
I realize that statement it seems a bit unfair. After all, the focus of the evening was what we expect from Christ as Christians. But, as with all things in our Christian walk, the focus must be on Christ and becoming more like Him. The moment we take our eyes off Him and start debating minutia that is only distantly related to Him, we stop discussing Christianity and begin studying a religion of rules. That’s the legalistic chicanery I mentioned earlier.
That said, what do you believe? Are you option one or option two? Are you something else? I’ll tell you what I believe. I expect Christ to bless me. I praise Him when He does. I expect life to be hard: full of pain, blood, sweat, and general unpleasantness. I praise Christ when He sits by my side in those times, provides the comfort necessary to go on. But joy or sorrow, blessing or suffering, living or dying, my focus is on Christ. This Christian walk of ours isn’t about what we get out of it. Never has been.
*It’s really just me. But it sounds more official if I say, “the staff,” instead of, “the dude typing this.”
**You don’t actually have to raise your hand.
Comments
Your perspective on what you need shifts. You need less and less with Christ. Therefore, there's nothing the world can do to you that causes you to falter in your following, I think that's what Paul and CHrist are driving at in their teaching on the issue.
Does God bless His people? It's heretical to say He doesn't because the Bible makes it clear taht He does. But I think the main way He blesses is by teaching us to think on heavenly things, not earthly things, that godliness is true contentment, etc.
Basing our opinions on experience on this issue is dangerous. What we get is not proof of blessing. What we get is what we get. Christ is more important.
That's my take. You shouldn't tell people to raise their hand only to tell them later they didn't have to. I had it up until I read the asterisk. Don't joke with my hands man. That's the kind of suffering I just don't need.
I am a bit torn....I think that we are meant to suffer somewhat here, because this is not Heaven. Our time here is very short in comparison to the blessings we will be given upon meeting Him, face to face, in Heaven.
I TRY (being a control freak by nature...it is not easy) to cling to the mantra my preacher said one day in church, "Pray for the strength to accept God's will...not the power to change it!"
You asked a very intriguing question at my site...and I am struggling to understand the "why" myself! Thanks for stopping by!
I agree that God blesses us with heavenly things, but I find it difficult to leave it at that. You'll note that many of the scriptures I referenced seem to talk directly about earthly blessings. So... it's complicated.
Sorry if your hand got tired.
Queen,
What I can't figure out is why we have to suffer at all. I know we do suffer, and I know that Christ suffers, but I'd really rather skip all the suffering and go to heaven. All in due time, I guess.