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Well, before I get into this post, let me thank everyone who commented and viewed my page yesterday. My hits doubled from Monday, even though I didn’t post anything. Also, it was the most hits I’ve ever received in a single day, so thank you! I guess controversy brings publicity! Anyway, I wanna share a thought that has been bouncing around in my head. I don’t have answers; actually I have more questions. Hopefully I don’t confuse anyone…here we go:

I am a very rational thinker. In everything I do, I have to “play it by the book.” I probably missed my generational calling for a few years. I have a modernist mind working in a postmodern generation. Everything I do is based around logic. In my mind, everything must make sense. My girlfriend likes to kid me about this because she is the complete opposite. While I do not make decisions based on emotion or feelings, she is prone to make up her mind based on what she wants, likes, or feels. For example, when I bought a TV, I got a subscription to Consumer Reports and did hours of research trying to find the right TV. After I narrowed my choices down, I did hours of research trying to find the best prices. One month later, I found a TV. My girlfriend mentioned that if she were the one buying the TV, she would have gone to one store only, saw a TV she liked, purchased, and never thought a thing. Meanwhile, I’m still wondering if I could have saved $3.47 by waiting another month.

I think both sets of thinking are good. I wish I had the emotional type of thinking a little bit more. The issue that has really been boggling my mind concerns how the Church is dealing with the tension between these two types of thinking/personalities as it relates to salvation and spiritual growth.

In many respects, I think the Church has taken the rational approach in these regards. Confused? Think about this: If someone asked you how to “be saved” or “how to find salvation,” what would you say? Most of us would go to a 4-step program explaining the exact steps needed for salvation. Much like putting a bookshelf together, we would offer up the blueprints for salvation: “Step 1: Confess your sins. Step 2: Confess Jesus as Lord. Step 3: Ask God to save you. Step 4: That’s all you need. Here’s your guaranteed ticket to heaven.” Okay, so I’m exaggerating that last step a little bit…or am I? My church used to have “click-pens” that explained the plan of salvation in 3 “clicks” of the pen. As simple as “ABC,” right? The intention is good…but can we truly understand the truth of salvation in 3 clicks of a pen. Is that preaching the gospel or deceiving the hearers?

We seem to want salvation to be logical and make perfect sense as if we were trying to program our TV. Once we complete the final step, we’ve done all we need to do and we can sit back and enjoy. We seem to ignore the passage in Philippians 2:12 that tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. This isn’t a promotion of works-based salvation, but a call to make ourselves separate from the world. Salvation isn’t a “type in the code and hit Enter” sort of thing. Maybe we’ve made it too rational for our own good.

The same is true with spiritual growth. How do we grow spiritually? Well, common sense would say that we must read our Bibles, pray, and do good things. None of those are bad things. They are all very good things! Great things! But do those things necessarily mean we will grow spiritually? 

I believe it is possible to do all of those things and still stay stagnant in your faith; maybe even falter in your faith. Spiritual growth necessitates much more than following simple stages. It’s about a relationship with Christ. It’s about holy living. It’s about communion with God in a daily setting. Yes, Bible reading, prayer, and good things are all a part of that, but if we’re not careful, we make them into an empty philosophy rather than growth in Christ.

The same goes for when we explain to people how they can feel close to God. We have our logical steps we go through. Repent, pray, read the Word, etc. Again, all great things…but have you been in a position where you did all of those things and you did not feel God’s presence. I have. 

I was listening to a conversation with a teenager on the radio the other day. He explained he really wanted to be close to God and tried all of the methods people suggested. He read the Bible, he tried praying, he even tried going to church. The other teenagers who were with him all did the same thing and said they felt God’s presence all over and they were filled with emotion and “joy.” However, he never felt anything. People told him that he must not be trying hard enough and that there must be unconfessed sin in his life. Whatever the issue, he didn’t “feel” God. He followed their steps, but nothing.

As unfortunate as this is, I know it’s not an isolated case. We often tell people how they can feel close to God, but when they don’t, we suspect something in wrong. We don’t seem to explain that we don’t always feel God’s presence or that even when we feel we are living for Him, sometimes He seems a million miles away.

So what’s the answer? Well, dismay with our rationalization does not mean I am suggesting we base our spiritual lives on emotional thinking or reasoning. As I mentioned in the case with the teenager on the radio, that sets a ticking time bomb for when dip in the valleys of life.

I think it is important to remember that salvation is the beginning of a new life and lifestyle, not the final step in our plans. Spiritual growth follows salvation but cannot exist without salvation. It is a continuous journey we must take that cannot solved or mastered by following a simple formula or the scientific equation. 

We should live lives of holiness, whether or not we feel God’s presence. Just because He seems distant does not mean He is. Even when we don’t feel our prayers are being answered, His Word tells us He is working things out for our benefit. 

Life is full of “How to” models, diagrams, and self-help books that are supposed to give us the plans to make better lives for ourselves. While the Christian life does not have a set of steps we have to follow in order to achieve “enlightenment,” we do have a model in Christ who is worth following.

Salvation is more than a 3-click pen and spiritual growth is more than collecting $200 when we pass Go.

Am I making any sense…or am I just being irrational?

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Coming Thursday: A review of Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris–a book EVERY teenager needs to read! Check out www.therebelution.com if you want to get a head start!

(PS- If I don’t get 26 comments on this post, I’m writing about Twizzlers tomorrow!)

Tags: Christian life, God, Salvation, Spiritual growth