When I think of a Christian who has fallen from grace, one who doesn't know why they believe what they believe or why they believed in the first place, I truly believe that they are starving. Starving for the Truth and starving for God to show that He really exists. They want Him to show Himself in a physical way and feel that if He doesn't reveal Himself in this way, that proves that He doesn't exist. They can't feel Him in a spiritual and/or a divine way either because they are trying so hard and over thinking so much to the point that they are pushing God right out of existence. If He doesn't answer immediately, or even in a month, a year or even five or ten years, well that's it, that proves that God doesn't exist.
When someone craves something, they search for something to fill their void. They can search an eternity. They can search until they believe that the thing that they are searching for didn't exist in the first place. The intangible is far beyond reach and therefore mustn't have been there to begin with.
I have been there, in fact, I don't know many Christian's who have not questioned the existence of God at one time or another - even those who have been Christian's for years! We begin to question if we believe what our parents believe or if we were going with the flow of things, singing the songs and saying the prayers that we felt was our "duty" while in church, Sunday School, and at home and gathered around the table at family get togethers.
I questioned my belief and if I was just hanging on to the "cocktails" of my parents belief. I asked for God to show His existence to me. I know that I had heard God's voice clear as day in the past, and that should have been evidence enough for me. I had even been healed by the hand of God. (I'll get in to that later) But, I was questioning it. I was questioning the voice of God! One that was comforting, One that scolded at times, One that was wonderful, One that was sarcastic and had a sense of humour, One that was loving and correcting, One that I had come to know as wonderful and beautiful.
It's okay to question. It's okay to have doubts and question something that you aren't sure of. It's okay to question why you believe what you believe or don't believe. The belief in the existence of something isn't tied up in a neat little bow. Question it and question why you are questioning in the first place. Starve for the questions and crave the answers. Hunger for the truth. Don't simply live off of the "cocktails" of your parents belief system. Seek the answers to the questions you have running through your head and your heart.
The voice of God may not come to you in a booming voice as so many people tend to believe. The hand of God may not touch you directly in a way that you are hoping and praying. The voice of God may come in a whisper, but are you listening? Are you really listening? I don't mean with human ears, I mean with your heart. Yes, sometimes God does answer in a loud booming voice. He has even struck people deaf and dumb! But, more often then not, He doesn't work that way. It's the whispers that we need to be listening for. The subtle ways that God tends to operate. That can be frustrating, can't it?! You don't hear a voice or the evidence that you were seeking or even not seeking, so God doesn't exist. You throw away your beliefs because, well, God didn't show Himself to you. Or maybe you didn't want Him to show the proof of His existence in the first place??? Or you didn't care.
This happens with so many Christians. Maybe they became a believer when they were a child. Maybe a sibling lead them to the Lord in the quiet of their bedroom. A simple prayer of asking Jesus into their hearts. A prayer that so many adults don't believe, yet a child believes without question. When that child becomes an adult, do they still believe? Do they carry on that simple belief, that yes, God does exist, Jesus does forgive, the Lord came into their life and forgave them of their sins? Do they crave the answers to the questions that they so believed without a doubt? Are they starving for the truth to be revealed to them? Or do they over analyze everything? One of the things that I can say to that is seek the answers and seek the truth that you believed so trustingly. Yes, trustingly, not blindly! That trusting faith won't leave you in the dark and bumping into disbelief.
I would question if we are the ones, Christian's as a whole who allow, yes I said allow, fellow believers to fall. Are we a bunch of hypocrites who do exactly what the world is doing? Does the non-believer "lifestyle" seem more appealing? Sure it does! But is it? Many would say yes. Non-believers seem just as happy as believers. The truth is, whether those non-believers know it or not, they are craving something else. But how are we to help fill that hunger when we are starving ourselves?! Are we the cause of our own disbelief? Are we the cause of others disbelief? Everyone has to seek out the truth on their own. That's the bottom line.
Something as simple as a yellow bird landing on your windowsill may proof enough of God's existence for you, but it may not be for someone else. Maybe that someone else will have to be struck deaf and dumb by God. At any rate, that fallen Christian or non-believer has to find the truth on their own. They have to crave it and starve for it. That void can only be filled on God's terms not theirs or even ours. Stubbornness on our part certainly gets in the way, but in the end, God will make His existence known...whether you believe in Him or not! Chew on that!
Another question in me
One for the powers that be
It's got me thrown and so
I put on my poker face
And try to figure it out
This undeniable doubt
A common occurrence
Feeling so out of place
Guarded and cynical now
Cant help but wondering how
My heart evolved into a
Rock beating inside of me
So I reel, such a stoic ordeal
Where's that feeling that I don't feel?
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person
Under a lavender moon
So many thoughts consume me
Who dimmed that glowing light
That once burned so bright in me
Is this a radical phase
A problematical age
That keeps me running
From all that I used to be
Is there a way to return
Is there a way to unlearn
That carnal knowledge
Thats chipping away at my soul
I've been gone too long
Will I ever find my way home?
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person
He used to want to try to walk the straight and narrow
He had a fire and he could feel it in the marrow
Its been a long time and I haven't seen him lately but
I've been searching for that missing person
-----
Michael W. Smith
Missing Person (I'll Lead You Home Album - 1995)
When someone craves something, they search for something to fill their void. They can search an eternity. They can search until they believe that the thing that they are searching for didn't exist in the first place. The intangible is far beyond reach and therefore mustn't have been there to begin with.
I have been there, in fact, I don't know many Christian's who have not questioned the existence of God at one time or another - even those who have been Christian's for years! We begin to question if we believe what our parents believe or if we were going with the flow of things, singing the songs and saying the prayers that we felt was our "duty" while in church, Sunday School, and at home and gathered around the table at family get togethers.
I questioned my belief and if I was just hanging on to the "cocktails" of my parents belief. I asked for God to show His existence to me. I know that I had heard God's voice clear as day in the past, and that should have been evidence enough for me. I had even been healed by the hand of God. (I'll get in to that later) But, I was questioning it. I was questioning the voice of God! One that was comforting, One that scolded at times, One that was wonderful, One that was sarcastic and had a sense of humour, One that was loving and correcting, One that I had come to know as wonderful and beautiful.
It's okay to question. It's okay to have doubts and question something that you aren't sure of. It's okay to question why you believe what you believe or don't believe. The belief in the existence of something isn't tied up in a neat little bow. Question it and question why you are questioning in the first place. Starve for the questions and crave the answers. Hunger for the truth. Don't simply live off of the "cocktails" of your parents belief system. Seek the answers to the questions you have running through your head and your heart.
The voice of God may not come to you in a booming voice as so many people tend to believe. The hand of God may not touch you directly in a way that you are hoping and praying. The voice of God may come in a whisper, but are you listening? Are you really listening? I don't mean with human ears, I mean with your heart. Yes, sometimes God does answer in a loud booming voice. He has even struck people deaf and dumb! But, more often then not, He doesn't work that way. It's the whispers that we need to be listening for. The subtle ways that God tends to operate. That can be frustrating, can't it?! You don't hear a voice or the evidence that you were seeking or even not seeking, so God doesn't exist. You throw away your beliefs because, well, God didn't show Himself to you. Or maybe you didn't want Him to show the proof of His existence in the first place??? Or you didn't care.
This happens with so many Christians. Maybe they became a believer when they were a child. Maybe a sibling lead them to the Lord in the quiet of their bedroom. A simple prayer of asking Jesus into their hearts. A prayer that so many adults don't believe, yet a child believes without question. When that child becomes an adult, do they still believe? Do they carry on that simple belief, that yes, God does exist, Jesus does forgive, the Lord came into their life and forgave them of their sins? Do they crave the answers to the questions that they so believed without a doubt? Are they starving for the truth to be revealed to them? Or do they over analyze everything? One of the things that I can say to that is seek the answers and seek the truth that you believed so trustingly. Yes, trustingly, not blindly! That trusting faith won't leave you in the dark and bumping into disbelief.
I would question if we are the ones, Christian's as a whole who allow, yes I said allow, fellow believers to fall. Are we a bunch of hypocrites who do exactly what the world is doing? Does the non-believer "lifestyle" seem more appealing? Sure it does! But is it? Many would say yes. Non-believers seem just as happy as believers. The truth is, whether those non-believers know it or not, they are craving something else. But how are we to help fill that hunger when we are starving ourselves?! Are we the cause of our own disbelief? Are we the cause of others disbelief? Everyone has to seek out the truth on their own. That's the bottom line.
Something as simple as a yellow bird landing on your windowsill may proof enough of God's existence for you, but it may not be for someone else. Maybe that someone else will have to be struck deaf and dumb by God. At any rate, that fallen Christian or non-believer has to find the truth on their own. They have to crave it and starve for it. That void can only be filled on God's terms not theirs or even ours. Stubbornness on our part certainly gets in the way, but in the end, God will make His existence known...whether you believe in Him or not! Chew on that!
Another question in me
One for the powers that be
It's got me thrown and so
I put on my poker face
And try to figure it out
This undeniable doubt
A common occurrence
Feeling so out of place
Guarded and cynical now
Cant help but wondering how
My heart evolved into a
Rock beating inside of me
So I reel, such a stoic ordeal
Where's that feeling that I don't feel?
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person
Under a lavender moon
So many thoughts consume me
Who dimmed that glowing light
That once burned so bright in me
Is this a radical phase
A problematical age
That keeps me running
From all that I used to be
Is there a way to return
Is there a way to unlearn
That carnal knowledge
Thats chipping away at my soul
I've been gone too long
Will I ever find my way home?
There was a boy who had the faith to move a mountain
And like a child he would believe without a reason
Without a trace he disappeared into the void and
I've been searching for that missing person
He used to want to try to walk the straight and narrow
He had a fire and he could feel it in the marrow
Its been a long time and I haven't seen him lately but
I've been searching for that missing person
-----
Michael W. Smith
Missing Person (I'll Lead You Home Album - 1995)
No comments:
Post a Comment