Whether we explore God from a scientific standpoint, observing the fine tuning of the universe or the complexity of DNA, or dig through as many historical documents as possible trying to find the perfect spiritual teaching, it is still only a starting point of recognition that there is a Creator that we know very little about. I would suggest most are unwilling to even start the journey to get to know Him and would rather debate the reasons for not doing so. The wounds suffered in TLWF topped my list until I realized they didn’t come from Him, but from those who said they were Him. I would suggest that God didn’t tweak our DNA so that we could have free choice – “Do you love Me for who I am or for what I can do for you?”. You find out what is in you when you face adversity and have to either continue to move forward or come up with excuses for not doing so. Fortunately, God can empower us to do what we could never do in our own strength and we will begin to recognize there is something at work in us beyond our human abilities. That’s the walk of faith – totally dependent on Him for all the practical stuff in this life and carefully following His daily leading and then watching as He amazing provides what He has determined we really need. That’s also the sonship TLWF promised but never delivered. You find He’s way better than anything you imagined at the beginning of your journey.
Any believer worth their salt that I have run into has suffered. Yet they will say as Paul, “We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Paul also said, ”We share in His sufferings that we may also share in His glory” and “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” On the surface it seems like a quick formula for a life of abuse and misery and the casual seeker will take a pass. To those who hang in there and begin to bear fruit, there is life in the Spirit right now – not just a carrot payable in the afterlife offered by someone using you for personal gain. That’s religion – not a relationship with a good Father. When He disciplines us, it is for our good and there is actually peaceable fruit as a result - not counseling to recover from abuse.
I’m probably taking a step off most people’s belief radar, but the journey ends up being longer than necessary if it is not mentioned. You eventually begin to learn in the school of hard knocks that Jesus is the only way to the Father. Obeying His commands is what produces life and nothing else. His commands are the opposite of normal human understanding. I know that produces explosive reactions, but it also is the narrow path to life. Jesus was simply passing on what the Father had spoken to him and we simply pass on Jesus’ words – and many have died for doing so. There is a reason he said to “teach them to obey everything I have commanded you” in the Great Commission. There is a Pearl of Great Price hidden there. It's also the point of the most controversy.
You can have a PhD in theology and know all the right stuff, but at the end of the day you will have to put it into practice or none of it means anything and will not work. I think the greatest gift we can give each other is to encourage one another to read Jesus’ words and put them into practice. His word never returns to Him void – it always works and will produce faith. There is a spiritual life that begins to happen beyond anything that can be conveyed in a book. The Bible hasn’t continued its influence because it’s great teaching (which it is), but because its God breathed to those who will obey. People through the centuries have found that He the reward – not just the idea of some mansion in heaven. They have even been willing to lay down their lives, not because they are extra religious, but because they have experienced and are in love with their Creator.
