Walking the Garden Path

Following Christ can be very exciting. Following Christ can be a little scary. There simply is no way that I can, in good conscience, tell you that it will always be easy to be a faithful disciple of Jesus.

Ask Peter about his experiences. Ask him if he was scared the night Jesus was arrested. Ask him if he worried what the religious leaders thought about his violation of Jewish traditions and laws. Ask him if it hurt when he was stoned, beaten, and ultimately crucified. Ask him if it was worth it.

I believe our choices are simpler today, and our risks are not as great, in this country. However, the teachings of Christ still require that we give ourselves away in the fashion He did at every moment leading up to and including Calvary. How we manage this life's resources and assets entrusted to us, how we relate to others, what we do with our time, etc., all are areas of discipleship that demonstrate the Lordship of Christ.

Religion often over simplifies the Christian life to a series of rules, dogmas, and rituals, all of which are designed to focus our attention on Christ. But it's easy to make the religious exercize the focus, losing the focus on Christ altogether. It's really important to remember that our actions are supposed to grow out of the relationship with God. And similarly, our actions should draw us closer to Him. But it all starts with the relationship. And the relationship is like any other--communication is key.

The easiest part about following Christ is the time we spend just being with Him, talking to Him, listening, just being. And if we stay there, we might think it will always be easy to know what to do, and to do it. But remember, the disciples were with Jesus the night He was arrested. Even though they were walking right alongside Him, they were scared, confused, and at least one of them struck out violently with a sword. The sweetest thing is that--even in that stressful moment--Jesus just fixed it, miraculously healing Malcus' ear. I don't really like being scared and confused, but I'd love to have been there.

As we walk together with Christ and the family of disciples here, there will be moments of fear and confusion. It's inevitable, because we have an enemy who will confront us. We will likely screw up, individually and collectively, and Jesus will have to fix it. I don't really like being scared and confused, but I really have to be there. And I want to be there with you.

The March to the Sea

I thank God for people like Os Hillman, who write things that might not be popular or appear reasonable to many, simply because they are following their sense of the Spirit's leading. People like this are often criticized for "not being very smart," because many see no sense in going a direction not commonly taken, or that doesn't appear to lead directly to the goal.

In a recent devotional from his book "TGIF (Today God is First), Os talks about the path God chose for Moses and Israel to follow on their departure from Egypt. The route most everyone chose to travel in those days went to the north and east, generally close to the Mediterranean coast, and more directly toward the goal of the Promised Land. Moses followed the course God provided, leading directly to the deep, southern waters of the Red Sea.

So crazy does this seem, that most scholars find the course described in Exodus as "nonsensical" or incomprehensible, and believe it was simply written from some ethereal, spiritual perspective--not real or true. The Israelites thought it crazy at the time, too. Certain that Pharaoh's armies would kill them all, they complained loudly about the stupidity of their leader.

God said "keep moving" even though the Red Sea was in front of them, blocking their path. It just didn't make any sense--at least, not from any human perspective. We know how the story worked into the miracle, with God making the way for deliverance through the waters that ultimately swallowed Pharaoh's army. But the fear, anger and doubts of God's people at that time remind me that the miracles of God don't come because of our faith or anything we do. Miracles happen because God is God.

We're not usually at the place where God is doing God things. Because we think it's not cost effective. Because we don't think it makes sense to go south, when the "straight" route is north. Because we think it's easier to do what we want. Because we don't like to be uncomfortable. Or lonely. Or poor. Or . . . whatever. But when we listen to God, do what He says, go where He leads, and just generally follow His instruction, we increase the probability of being exactly where He is doing the things we call miracles. Right in the middle of the fear and doubt. When you think there's nowhere left to turn. When you're scared out of your wits, ready to just die.

I don't think God intends faith to be just for adrenaline junkies. But I do believe He does what He does in places and times many are unwilling to be. Faithfulness is required throughout the mundane hard march to the place God calls us, even when we don't see the logic and want to complain about the insanity of it all. We don't even have to understand what God intends. We just have to be crazy enough to keep marching to the sea.