messianic math

i love a good ol' cliche. it just makes me happy for some reason to hear a cheesy phrase thrown into a speech, or better yet, just a random conversation. one that i love (maybe this is just on the tip of my mind because it is almost 70 degrees out today) is any variation of this phrase-

"it may be raining outside, but the S-O-N is shining in here."

how can you not at least smile at that? not because it makes me think deeply about the presence of Christ in our hearts and minds at all time, but because it is just so corny.

here's another of my faves-

"let go, let God..."

note the dot, dot, dot at the end, because it never specifies what you are letting God do. so cryptic, yet so applicable to all situations. i can just see people's reactions to professionals using this advice tactic in their jobs. imagine going to a dermatologist and hearing the following...

don't know what to do about your dandruff problem? don't turn to head and shoulders- let go, let God.

or to a motivational speaker or seminar and hearing...

having issues passing that test or getting ahead in the corporate world? don't try harder- let go, let God.

or to a therapist and hearing this...

now i know you struggle with depression, anxiety, amnesia and dementia, so here is your prescription- let go, let God.

now with all due respect to those who use these phrases with good intentions, i do not mean to poke fun. i just think they have little value. i will gladly explain why i think that. life circumstances are too complicated to be explained away by black and white, cliche answers. furthermore, being a Christian is far too complex to be reduced to a rubric comprised of platitudes, sins that are a major "no-no" and helpful hints. while these inspirational sayings grandmas around the world cross stitch onto pillows lift the burden of the soul momentarily, they by no means have the spiritual girth to carry people through real spiritual crisis. in my mind, we practice theological reductionism by trying to use quips and quotes to negate lament and pain. for instance, how can we believe that Christians are supposed to be smiling and happy all the time and still have the story of the prophet jeremiah in our bibles? how can we say that bad things should not happen to good people and thumb through the pages of job? and how can we say that it cannot be God's plan for a Christian to suffer? do we not then have to ignore the path that took Jesus from gethsemane to the cross? that's why although i am entertained by these phrases, they really do nothing for me. it seems that these little nuggets of wisdom some people throw around are more like bandaids being placed over a gaping wound.

we are equally guilty when we try to reduce living a life of discipleship to bullet points and highlights we pull out of scripture and slap onto a track we pass around the neighborhood. (and here is where i get into trouble) following God is so much more than voting a certain way. it annoys me to no end when people think that someone is a good candidate to run this country just because they claim to be a Christian. it also annoys me when people think someone who is not a Christian will send the country straight to h-e-double hockey sticks and must have no morals at all. it's as though the sermon on the mount included a checklist of voting pro-life and anti-gay union. now before i get lambasted, please read this next part... do i believe abortion is ok? no. do i support gay marriage? no. but i think there is a big difference in standing up for Jesus and standing up for issues. when we stand up for issues, we ignore the people involved in the issues. God's creation- our neighbors and co-workers and friends- become statistics. how do we love a statistic? how do we extend grace to someone we view as "just another homosexual" or "that tramp who got an abortion?" where is the heart of Christ in that? i believe there is a way to stand up for God and the statutes of His kingdom without pushing others down and labeling them as projects, rejects or defects. there is a way to love the sinner while hating the sin. i believe God invented that when he saved you and i, and we are to follow Him in the way we live. i am not saying i have this figured out. what i am trying to point out is that we cannot just make God into an equation.

don't have premarital sex + pray before meals + go to a church building every sunday + vote correctly = heaven

that's not what i believe God had in mind for His plan of salvation. what i do think He had in mind was for us to be like david- to be after God's heart. i mean not only to reflect God's heart but to chase after God's heart. to never get enough. to never be close enough. to never settle for a watered down faith, but to always seek to learn more and be sharpened. i believe he sent Jesus to the earth not only to offer the gift of His death and resurrection, but to give us the gift of His life. to see how God would interact with people. not with judgment and malicious evangelism, but with love. not with blind acceptance and no accountability, but with a call to more than we often settle for.

so i know i went on and on, and even talked about politics for the first time on here, but i hope you can hear in my words my heart to be more than a cliche-wielding, bible thumping Christian. i am not nearly as interested in fitting the mold of a western Christian as i am in fitting the mold of my Savior and my God. i pray for His strength and mercy as i shave off the sins of apathy and reductionism that keep me from fitting that mold.