Christians would be wise to take a step back and realize how incredibly, truly unbelievable, our belief system really is. It would do us some good to see how ridiculous and far-fetched our faith is – how some dude thousands of years ago died some crazy violent nasty death and somehow that wiped out every evil deed for all time so that we can spend eternity in lalaland and sing with all the angels. It would be good for us who grew up believing these things to see it all from the perspective of someone who can’t wrap their heads around any single part of it and think we are more lunatic than their pervy uncle on crack who writes out calculations in some ancient language in 500 composition books in his basement. For some people, Christianity isn’t all that far off from that guy.
And just like you and me who wouldn’t believe Uncle Crackhead about his theories on aliens living in the sewers, many do not believe what we believe. And why should they? It makes zero sense. It has more holes than a screen door. We try to explain it and for every argument we have, there are hundreds of completely sensible rebuttals and alternate theories, not to mention countless other world belief systems that seem to have just as much credibility and origin stories as Christianity does.
So why would anyone believe?
It’s a question I used to think about a lot. I went through a long period of my adult life thinking Christianity was nutZ, with a capital z. (no offense to anyone whose last name may be nutz) I went through a time of complete despair in not having clue as to what life was all about and then alternated with this frenetic belief that life was what you make of it and you have to grab all you can out of it and live hard, play hard, die hard. or harder. or with a vengeance. At any rate, I just couldn’t keep up.
And like the Bruce Willis movies, the choice became clear to me… you either live free or you die hard. Not that I had any epiphanies while watching the Die Hard franchise, mind you, but the truth does set you free. And thanks be to God I came to know, truly, deeply know, what it meant to live free.
How could I possibly believe any of this nonsense? What well developed argument would ever change my mind and heart to believe what I felt in my bones was a load of crap shovelled on to the weak minded and insecure? Who would be the one to convince me once and for all that this is my saving Grace? This is my redemption?
And it become all too clear that it had nothing to do with me. And that’s the part we Christians often forget. I can reason with you until we are both blue in the face. I have no argument, no proof, no evidence, no script that will change anyone’s mind. EVER. It is only the gift of faith. In the time of the gift, through the graciousness of the Giver. We can only pray we are there to see it received, but we must also pray that we are not in the way, that our lives and words and actions do not delay the gift – though we know nothing will stop His Grace from breaking through every wall and every chain. Because it happened to us and we would do well to remember just how incredible it truly is to believe.
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the wife & times of Reverend Wootton 