None of us are really keeping the Law of Nature. If there are any exceptions among you, I apol-ogise to them. They had much better read some other book, for nothing I am going to say concerns them. And now, turning to the ordinary human beings who are left…
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Revised and Amplified Edition
-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Revised and Amplified Edition
Much of what I’m seeing in this discussion* is a demand for evidence, for “proof”, of God’s existence or that the very teachings of the Holy Bible should prove to be true. But if evidence were to be so easily handed over on a silver platter, would Christianity be the same as it is today? That is certainly an interesting question, and one for another debate. But my point is that Christianity does not work off of evidence and proof and facts. Christianity is not called a “faith” for no reason. This whole debate could be viewed in a simple metaphor really. A child grew up eating chocolate chip cookies all his life and never any other type of cookie; when he visits the baker and learns that he is out of chocolate chip, the baker hands him a sugar cookie instead and says “Try this.” But the boy, who has always eaten chocolate chip cookies, and never a sugar cookie, looks at the baker as if he’s insane.
I’ll return to that little metaphor in a little while. First, however, I’d like to actually offer my perspective of Christianity. Like many before me, my childhood was practically God-less. My parents never went to church, and when they did, it was just a “Sunday thing”. We did it because our neighbors were doing it, the town was doing it, my grandparents were doing it, and so on and so forth. There was the “talk but no walk”, as one would say. Finally, when my brother was about five years old, he had come down with a serious throat disease (something along the lines of strep, but far worse) and had nearly stopped his breathing all together because a build-up of mucus had clogged his airway. My mom had to rush him to the emergency room and my dad was called away from work so he could go and be with my brother. I had been in school when this had happened and was completely unaware of the incident.
Through medical expertise and, as we strongly believe, the healing power of God, my brother was saved. Several nights later, my dad witnesses to others to this day that he was lying awake all night thinking of that incident, and that suddenly he felt a unexplainable calm come over him; that everything was going to be okay. From then on, we went to church every Sunday, but not because everyone else was doing it, but because we strongly believed that their was a God, and He was always watching out for us. We went not to practice religion, but to worship Him. Not to evangelize, but to praise. Not to study, but to commune.
While my parents had been saved, I was not yet to that point of fully understanding the importance of having God in my life. In fact, it wasn’t until my sophomore year in high school that I felt God take a 2×4 to my head when I had gotten myself into some serious trouble with authorities. I had ignorantly walked into a situation with some friends that I shouldn’t have been hanging out with. I had been pressured on all sides by both peers and authorities concerning what I was accused of doing, or nearly doing. Finally, I had been sentenced to sixty days of alternative education (the “bad kid” program). My sophomore year had ended in complete disaster. During those trials, I had prayed constantly to God. I asked Him for the same strength that He gave Peter, Paul, and the countless others that had witnessed for Him, and were persecuted simply for speaking His name. Yet, I felt as if He wasn’t there; like I was praying to a ghost. As the pounding and the headaches continued, I had just about given up. My parents were disappointed, my friends were confused and asking questions, and teachers began to mistrust me. I started losing what little faith I come in with. I chose to ride with a local officer back to my house from the school, rather than with my parents, fearing to be around them. It was then that I poured out to her and in my naiveté I had exclaimed that I felt cold and abandoned by God. She then slowed down the patrol car a little and quoted a well-known prose:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied,
“The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints,
is when I carried you.”
Never in my entire life had I felt so ashamed and so foolish. I felt exposed and guilty. When I got home, I felt lighter and without a single worry in the world. After the entire ordeal, I was shocked and amazed (and definitely relieved) to learn that everything that happened wasn’t going on my record; that I wasn’t going to be “charged” with anything. It was gone; done; over with; water under the bridge… and I knew that it was God’s doing. No lawyer would have been able to argue for me, and no detective would have been able to explain the evidence that could prove me innocent. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely innocent and the entire situation was a big misunderstanding, but it was the fact that fear was running things, running the school’s actions and mindset, that placed me in such a bind. To this day, I remember the footprints in the sand… His footprints next to mine.
From then on I grew in my faith. I saw church in the same light my parents saw it. I saw God as someone I could have a relationship with. In time I began to teach lessons I had learned during my walk with Christ to others in my church, particularly the youth group. I led lessons, went on mission trips, and sponsored in fun activities and events. The youth eventually became a huge part of my life and I now know what I want to do when I get out of the military: teach. Whether its teaching in the church, or at a school, I’ll leave that up to God to guide me. Or maybe I’m completely wrong, who knows? Oh wait, He knows.
Now I know this all seems mushy-mushy, thats-so-sweet to some of you, and perhaps complete and utter jargon to others. But remember that I’m human just like the rest of you and I’m still not without my mistakes and sins. Yes, God isn’t always the mushy-loving huggle-bear that we often times want Him to be. After all He says He’s both a loving and “just” god. When we sin, He has his ways of teaching us lessons. Like just recently I was hit pretty hard on all sides by my flight chief and fellow wingmen on shift because of a few minor mistakes. Mistakes that could have been avoided if my head was in the game; but it wasn’t. Why? Because my mind was focused on giants, not God.
Focus on giants—you stumble. Focus on God—your giants tumble.
-Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants
-Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants
In his book, Max covers the entire story of David (that’s King David, the shepherd boy that defeated the giant, Goliath). Before throwing that famous stone, David comes onto the battlefield and sees not an army of thousands of Philistines, nor a menacing and frightening behemoth of a Neanderthal; he comes onto the battlefield talking about God. The first words out of his mouth are about God:
David asked the men standing near him, ‘What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?’”
-1 Samuel 17:26 NIV
-1 Samuel 17:26 NIV
Where I’m stationed at now is my first duty station in my new career with the Air Force. I’m all alone, away from family and friends, and away from the comfort of my church. For the last few months I’ve avoided going to any of the churches here. I come up with excuses every Sunday morning. “I’m too tired, I think I’ll sleep in.” “I’ll go next Sunday, I’ve got too much to do today.” “I worked last night, I can’t stay up any longer.”
My biggest “giant” is procrastination. I put off my relationship with God so much that it started having an impact with my duties as Security Forces. I couldn’t focus during exercises; I started to misplace my gear (I nearly lost a box of eighteen rounds of 40mm high explosive, dual-purpose M203 grenade rounds!). It was time for God to take another 2×4 to my head. I called my family back home and told them what was going on. My mom and two little brothers came up to see me that very weekend and we found a nice Methodist church in town to go to that Sunday morning. It turned out that God provided for my needs again! They just started up a 9:15 contemporary service; they have a large youth group in need of ministry assistance; and plenty of other opportunities that are right up my alley (such as technical assistance during the worship services up stairs). It all been waiting for me, but I kept putting it off, ignoring it; not realizing that it was right there. Since that Sunday morning, I’ve been doing much better at work, and every moment of every day for that matter. I put my focus on God, and not my giants.
So now that you’ve sat through and read my testimony, I’m sure you’re wanting me to get back to that cookie metaphor. The point behind that was that the boy was demanding chocolate chips on the sugar cookie so that it was cookie. You and I know, however, that a sugar cookie is, indeed, a cookie. But the boy, who’s grown up eating chocolate chip cookies, only knows those to be cookies. So when the baker presents him with something new and foreign, he does not recognize it and claims it to be false. There are no chocolate chips so, to him, there is no proof that the sugar cookie is even a cookie at all. But he won’t realize the fact that its a cookie until he tries it; takes a bite of it; tastes it. His stubbornness can only be conquered by one thing and one thing alone: a choice. The child must take a leap of faith and bite into the sugar cookie; setting aside all of this talk of the requirement for chocolate chips.
Christianity is not based on physical evidence, hard facts, or crunched numbers. It isn’t based on surveys, polls, and statistics. Its a “faith-based” system. The decision to believe that I had not been abandoned my sophomore year was mine alone to make. The decision to call my family and tell them I needed God back in my life was mine alone to make. The decision to take God with me into the battlefield when I deploy for the first time in May… is mine alone to make. Who cares about chocolate chips? Who cares about numbers? Who cares about statistics? Frankly, I find them quite droll and boring.
Footnotes
*In reference to a discussion I was participating in on another forum where the "debate" eventually eroded down to one Christian defending what he believed in from an onslaught of flame and sarcastic comments from atheists at every turn. This post originated from that board, copied to my blog, and now copied to be shared here at Interfaith. Consider this post something merely to ponder; but I'm more than happy to discuss it.
