January 5, 2018
It is so easy to view God as a far-off, distant creator. In fact, some religions like deism are even based on a impersonal, unbiased God that just started life and doesn’t react with it at all. If I am not careful to prevent against this view of God as distant, I can easily lose touch with my faith and God himself. Our communities, ourselves at times, and society as a whole try to numb us from feelings and rawness by shoving temporary “fixes” and substitutions in our faces. I really do believe every human was created with a deep curiosity and desire for life and more beyond ourselves. We need to believe in something greater because we know deep in our hearts that we fall short. God created us with a desire to fulfill our emptiness, a desire to know more and to be more. While society may be able to offer short-lived escapes from our emptiness in many different forms, Christ is the only one who can give eternal and life-giving meaning and satisfaction. We can look to worldly vices as means of numbing and distracting from the real truth which is that we are made for more. The Devil can tell me time after time that I am less than enough, broken, and insufficient. The painful truth is that I am. I am nothing without Christ. This is not a pity party; this is not me be hard on myself. That is the truth. My life itself is NOTHING without God’s will for it and His breath that gives me life. It is very tempting to look to the world and myself for answers, advice, meaning, and satisfaction. I do it all too often. However, I find that God comes in and reminds me of His continual support and blessings. Jesus is our personal savior. Evil tries to come in and demand us to focus on impersonal, non-emotional distractions from our true need for Christ. Evil tries to push us towards a life that is less than what God intends for us. Evil tries to make us settle and live a life of complacency. The GREAT news lies in the fact that our God, Jesus, is Emmanuel, or “God with us.” Our God is a personal one. He is ever-faithful, ever-personal. He is too dang good. He has personalized a life purpose for each and every single one of His children. He comes alongside us and picks up our load with us. He promises to “[go] before you and [be] there with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). He promises to walk alongside us and be ever-present with us. He is not a far-away, uncaring Creator who left behind His creation. He created humans to build relationships with them. He created us to know him and be known by Him. He loves us dearly. I can confidently say this because I said “yes” to living a life with Christ many years ago. I can confidently say He has blessed me abundantly and wants to bless you too. Trust me guys, His overflowing love is too good to miss out on. I can never thank Him enough for it and its impact on my life. I can only pray and hope that each of you get to encounter His radical, life-giving, eternal, never-ending, and unconditional love. That is my prayer.
With love,
C