Recently, I had a gentle reminder of how absolutely crazy and truly unbelievable my faith looks to someone on the outside. I was reminded how insane it seems to the world that there are people (like me) who actually take the Bible literally. People who believe that there was a garden, a flood, an ark, a big fish, a virgin birth, a baby who was fully God and fully man, miracles, a resurrection, a future Antichrist who will deceive many, and a coming king who will rule and reign on the new earth for eternity. It sounds like a fairy tale to those who don't believe it's absolute TRUTH.
And, how can you explain all that to someone who uses human understanding to determine what's true? You can't. It sounds crazy. And for me, it had been a long time since that reality was right before me - so in my face - so clear that what we believe is little more than a fairy tale to the rest of the world.
So, what's the difference between those who believe this "fairy tale" and those who don't. A revelation of Jesus. Once you've had a one-on-one encounter with Jesus, you're forever changed. Rewired in such a way that how you see God, yourself, others, the future, the past, and life in general is altered and YOU CAN'T GO BACK! Everything you hear and see from that point forward passes through a new God-filter -a spiritual discerner - that reveals truth and deception. You are truly BRAIN WASHED. You walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh. You are a new creation.
It's impossible to understand or explain all of this to the human mind. It takes spiritual revelation and personal experience. It takes the Holy Spirit revealing Himself. When the Spirit of God is born in you - when you accept HIM for who HE is, invite HIM in and ask HIM to transform you into HIS image and likeness, then, and only then, you're changed, you're eyes are opened and you can SEE.
I think as followers of Jesus, we too often isolate ourselves. We keep our faith protected from the outside world by surrounding ourselves with those who share it. This can be good in many ways - but I've also seen recently how this can be very bad.
Good in that we have fellowship. We have intimate relationships with others who are manifesting the living Spirit of God. Through those relationships we can experience even MORE of Jesus as it is expressed through others who are surrendered to Him. Good in that we have support. We have friends and family who "get it." Who understand what we mean when we say something. Who care about the things we care about and who see the world through similar glasses. All of that is good.
But there is also a downside to this isolation. One obvious negitive aspect is that we stop pursuing the lost. We loose touch with those who need God - who in their own way are looking for HIM. If we don't make ourselves available to them via relationship, we completely miss any chance of sharing the Jesus with them - and as a result fail to fulfill the great commission.
In addition to this most significant downside, I was reminded recently of another - not as eternal - but a bad side effect nonetheless. If we only surround ourselves with those who live in our reality we forget how wild, how crazy, how unreal our reality is for those who can't see it. We forget how alien we really are. How can we relate to those who don't believe if we forget how wacky we seem to them. This second side effect relates directly to the first. How can we relate to the world if we are so out of touch with their perspective?
We need to remember how it felt, how it looked to us before we believed. And if we grew up believing, we need to be open to the world around us and allow our children to experience the world too. We need to have friends who disagree. Even those who are settled in their own faith - who will never see Jesus as the one true God. Those who live with other paradigms. If we isolate ourselves from these realities we loose our passion for sharing God AND we end up being really lame at it when we do try. It's like we speak another language. We need to be bi-lingual - able to share the love of God and the realities of HIS Kingdom and HIS Word in a way that those who are seeking can hear.
I am very grateful for my little wake up call. I'm glad God sent me a reminder of how crazy and weird I look to the world. Not because I'm proud of being a "fool for Jesus" (which I am) but because I need to be reminded that being in the world and not of it means that I am open and aware of those around me. I seek out all types of relationships and stay open to what the Holy Spirit is doing. I accept the "alien" status but even more I embrace the call to go into world and preach the gospel of Jesus... and when necessary, to use words.
realizing that to some what I believe is and always will be - truly unbelievable.
