I'm sitting here with predawn creeping through the tree branches bringing forth freedom from the night. There is no wind or breeze although they are forecast for today. Having read the verse above just a short few moments ago I'm still unpacking the implications in my life. There is more to the verse than I will ever understand. Fully understanding is not the purpose though. Fully understanding God's word or God himself would so overwhelm me that I wouldn't be able to function or even live. It's hard enough trying to know me without trying to know God as intimately as he would like. So, what does the verse mean and why has it stuck in my mind this morning?
I've told the story of my lifelong belief that Subaru was made in Sweden only to have that belief crushed by my 17 year old son! Many of you probably think I must have a screw loose to believe that. I don't even know where and how the belief came about. All I know is that I was wrong. No matter how much I believed that Subaru was made in Sweden would make the belief real.
A like story is my growing up in North Dakota on "meat and potatoes". The spices we used were salt and pepper. If the dish needed more seasoning we added more salt and or pepper. That style of food was reinforced when I went into the Army. After exiting the Army, now married, I discovered that people used different spices in their foods that I hadn't even known existed. Wow! Food came alive! There are still times when all I use is salt and pepper. Most of the time I choose from a plethora of spices and really enjoy the different tastes.
The family I was raised in didn't practice any religious upbringing except taking the Lord's name in vain. I thought that was the way all families lived and took the belief that this was "normal" and okay. Yet again, when I came face to face with my own mortality and gave myself to Christ I learned that the life I had been raised in was anything but normal. Twenty years of my normal had really set some deep beliefs inside of me. Getting over the hump and understanding that I needed to let go of those beliefs was huge. Basically, I had to abandon one belief system for another.
Between the Subaru, spices and beliefs from my growing up I had a lot of letting go to do. In letting go there was the danger of losing myself to yet another belief that may be disproved in the future. Well, maybe not with the Subaru! I'm a visual man. I like to be able to see thoughts. So, I used one of a boat at a dock. In order to enter the boat (new truth) I had to let go of the dock (old truth). What I discovered over time was that I would step into the boat only to put one foot back onto the dock. Familiarity was the draw. We, as humans, are afraid of new or different. We don't want to risk so we hedge our bets. In order to be "in Christ", we have to let go of our past life and take hold of our future life.
It's the difference between being a blood relative and an adopted relative. Blood relations bring from the families past their beliefs. Adopted relations dictate a choice to believe what is presented. When we are "born again" we are adopted into Christ as his brother and a son of the Father. We have the choice to believe the heritage (Bible) or we can pick and choose. When we pick and choose we keep one foot on our old belief system. One foot in our old belief system is believing in vain. As we abandon ourselves into Christ we need to close the door to past beliefs that restrict who God is and what he wants to do through our surrendered lives. The question that needs to be answered in all of our lives is clear. Have we believed in vain or not?
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