Pointless Faith

I grew up around the faith my entire life. I loved Jesus. I felt God during worship. Sure, I slipped up with sin, but in my heart, I wanted nothing more than to be a good Christian. Not because I feared rejection, but because I was grateful for what I believe God has done for me. Every week in my High school chapel, I'd sit in the front row, filling notebooks with tips and tricks on how to live better, how to love better, how to be better. I joined the worship team. I became the spiritual life editor for the school newspaper. Knowing all the time that I was far from a perfect Christian, yet striving to overcome my sin nonetheless. I graduated and went to bible college. Worship and victory by day, sin and defeat by night. This is the story of my Christian walk. If this doesn't sound familiar, let me not forget all the dry seasons dispersed in there. All the times I was the Judas in my own story; trading my so-called "savior" for things I pretend not to love. Lust, pride, anxiety, anger, drunkenness, and gossip. But in spite of my shortcomings, it was all okay on Sunday. When I'd get my fix of the Holy Spirit that was just strong enough to make me feel forgiven of my sins. Just enough to make me feel loved, worthy, and renewed. All to start it over on Monday morning. But God knows my heart. And if I can just read more, pray more, worship harder, trust deeper, then maybe- just maybe - I can be strong enough to say no to my sin. 

    I know that for many of you reading, you relate on a very, very personal level. Tragically, many of us experience this. And if this is the reality, then what is the point of being a Christian? Just to endure this endless cycle week after week, year after year, till many of us find ourselves in a spiritual coma; believing, but with nothing to show for it and no strength to fight anymore. For many, you took that leap of faith, and you fell through the floor. So Christianity just doesn't work for you.

So again, I ask the question: "What is the point?"

My Friends, the good news is that the author of our faith lays it out plainly, and it rests in these two passages:

John 1:1-5

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 3:14-16

"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

That's it. The entirety of the Gospel- of the Christian faith itself- rests on those verses. It didn't strike me at first, as it probably doesn't for many of you. Obviously, we all know those passages and believe them, but the question is whether or not we truly understand what they mean. So let's start with the latter. The story takes place in Numbers, where the Israelites begin complaining against God and Moses. 

"Then the LORD sent snakes to the people, and they bit the people so that many people of Israel died. So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."

I prayed about this passage multiple times, struggling to figure out its significance and why Jesus mentioned it- and then it hit me like a train: The Israelites were dying. They were in the desert and dying with absolutely no hope of rescue. But God provided a way out. He provided a way to be healed. But what I think is the most crucial part is the fact that the Israelites needn't do anything but gaze at their salvation. God did the rest. That is the Gospel. The Quintessence of Life became a man, and all we have to do is believe that. All we have to do is look at who he is.

I find it rather preposterous that modern Christian circles place such heavy emphasis on purging ourselves of sin. Don't get me wrong- my stance on sin is that it does need to be actively removed from our lives. My dilemma, however, is that the emphasis is on us removing our sin. How is it that we need Jesus because we can't save ourselves, yet we buy into the lie that we have to? Even after accepting Jesus. It makes absolutely no sense.

Jesus' call for his disciples wasn't to be perfect. It was simply to follow him. To watch what he did, hear what he taught, and witness the compassion he freely gave. But above all, he called them to experience what it meant to be his friend. When we enter into proximity with life, the sin that is our death fades from existence.

His call for us is no different.

So, to all you out there who want more, my exhortation would be to simply read a gospel. Go see for yourself who Jesus is. Go look at his patience, kindness, tenderness, and love. Just keep looking. He'll do the rest :)