Mind Boggling
A couple of common questions I get is how do I know God is there and what is “all this God business” about? I believe these are common questions and very valid questions for someone who has never experienced God. The answer is always the same for me: Because I have a relationship with Him or “it is about the relationship”.
This response can be mind-boggling for some folks, but I don’t answer this way just to boggle their mind… whatever boggling one’s mind means, I answer this way because it is simply the only truthful way I know to answer.
For me, this answer is complete, concise, and fully describes my faith. Sometimes their eyebrows go up and they change the subject while wondering about my medication, other times the answer will provoke more questions about this relationship and I begin to share my testimony.
One such testimony is the revelation of His Word. At some point in my life, I made the decision to accept Scripture as the absolute truth and God’s inspired word directed at each of us. This means, God’s Spirit inspired the writers of the Old and New Testaments to lay out His words. This also means His same Spirit, that is, the Holy Spirit, is here to teach us the full depth and meaning of these words and how to apply them to our lives.
This is an important testimony to share with someone trying to understand “all this God business”, because they may have or may try to read the Bible at some point and get absolutely nothing out of what we are calling the absolute truth. The experience of what we call a relationship leaves them empty, confused, and further rejecting “all this God business”.
Maybe you have an experience with Scripture where God revealed something and the meaning just exploded off the page – this is an excellent testimony to share. Such as one I have from several years ago where I remember writing the curriculum for our children’s church and planning to spend one Sunday on John the Baptist… I mean, really… he ate locust and honey, wore animal pelts, and dunked people in the water, I should be able to cover that in one Sunday, right? Little did I realize God was going to take us on a six-week journey resulting in four baptisms!
Six weeks on John the Baptist! There is no way I could have come up with six weeks worth of teachings, however the Holy Spirit opened up something new for each week. As a result, we baptized four children who were not only ready, but also excited about the experience.
I look at my last couple of articles on this blog in the same way, Small Matters? and Painful Roots. I am caught up in one simple request made to Jesus by the disciples in Luke 17:5.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
Normally you would think someone who writes, teaches, trains, and provides business consulting could take a simple phrase and explain it in less than a few paragraphs, but this is looking at the subject with the wisdom of the world. What does God’s Word say about the wisdom of the world?
1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.
As I consider the simple request made by the disciples in Luke 17:5, the whole aspect of our involvement in our faith comes to light and boggles my mind… and this whole boggling thing leaves me wanting to know more.
Think about the Lord’s response to the above request. We looked at the uprooting of sin in our lives in yesterday’s article , but Jesus makes an equally, if not more puzzling statement after the uprooting.
Let’s pick it up in Luke 17:7-8:
Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?
I can tell you I have read this passage many times and just glossed over it, however this week I was stuck on the disciple’s request and how the Lord responds. Jesus is talking less about servants and when they eat and more about us and where we direct our faith. Of course, we serve the Lord, but what supper can we provide to Him who has all He requires and has already prepared a banquet feast for all of us? What food could we give to the Lord?
We give Him what He hungers for: our faith.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that…
…without faith it is impossible to please God…
Throughout Scripture, we find the first thing God requires from us is our faith in Him. In the disciple’s request, I believe Jesus recognizes the disciples are requesting an increase in their faith so they may accomplish that which is important to them… ah… they are wanting to feed themselves first. I see His reply as more a rebuke for them to recognize their interest is self-serving instead of serving God and what is important to God.
I can confess many times I have stumbled in focusing my faith on my own interests instead of God and His interests. He is still revealing these areas in my life. I have these selfish claims and pursuits with lofty dreams… I think God is in these plans only to find I have closed the door on Him.
His response?
Revelations 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Too many times I have closed the door. He is faithful to continue to knock… sometimes lightly, sometimes pounding, yet always patient. When I finally open the door, or… when I finally realize my motives are selfish and confess them, He is quick to respond and redirect my faith where it needs to be: on Him. And, we find in the last verse above, we finally eat together or are served together… that is, when we focus our faith on God and His interests, we too benefit from the effort and are equally blessed or nourished.
Where is your testimony? Where is your relationship with God? Do you have any areas where you may have closed the door on God, even though you pray for His blessings on your plans? You may have heard this saying before, but instead of asking God to find His place in your plans, maybe you should find your place in His plans.
I encourage you to consider your testimonies, examine your relationship with God, and look for areas in your life where you may have closed the door on Him all while asking Him for His blessings. You may be as surprised as I was… am… as I work though this whole concept of serving Him.
I believe it is worth it. Contact me if you want help praying through this process.
Glenn Sasscer
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