NOW! Unpacking Faith.

I am somewhat of a tinkerer.  Having spent a good portion of my childhood as a gopher for my dad, I gained an immense base of knowledge when it comes to figuring stuff out and repairing it.  I can’t say that I am as adept at being Mr. Fixit as my father, but because of him, I certainly have no fear of jumping into any project.   There are many days when I walk in the door and my daughter holds up some broken toy and says, “fix it dad.”  The challenge is too much to resist.  

At the very core of who I am… I love to tear things down to their simplest parts to see and understand how it works.  I think this nature is what confounds me about Faith, the church, Religion, and how Christians are so far off base. We need a “do – over”.

Too many people, maybe including yourself, have made Faith in God so incredibly complicated that it seems impossible or too heavy to carry.  What was designed to be easy and light has become a sack of rocks that maybe you would just rather not pick up on some days.  Recall when Jesus Christ told us that his teachings are easy and his burden is light?

If you have ever felt that the weight of faith is just too heavy to carry today… then you’ve missed the basic idea of faith.

There are thousands of books telling us “who God is” and instructions for finding God’s will… what a waste of trees.  I have sat through countless sermons where pastors of all types of backgrounds have struggled with “God’s Will” and how to discern “His Will” for our lives.  It’s as if we are waiting for a brochure and pamphlet to fall out of the sky that tells us exactly what we should be doing in our lives – complete with bar graphs, charts, and timelines.  Don’t hold your breath for that to happen.

If you have prayed that God shows you what career move you should make in order to follow His will… you’ve missed the point.  At no point does the entire collective work of the Holy Bible instruct us to find the right job so we can be happy.  The complete nature of God does not point toward “what we get out of faith” rather, it points us toward how to be in relationship with God and how to “share our faith” regardless of where we are or how our life is turning out.

As a father, there is no possible way that I am going to hide myself from my daughter.  Under no circumstance will I leave her in the dark and confuse her so she can’t find me.  At no time would I ever make it seemingly impossible for my child to experience my love.  How can I give my complete love and attention to her and still make it impossible for her to find me?  Sure there will be times where she will need to learn who I am and how to navigate life, but I will always show her and keep my arms around her.

Is God not bigger than we are?  Then how much more God loves us that we love our children or our family!

God’s will is clearly outlined:  Love Him with everything you have by loving your neighbor as yourself.  How do you love your neighbor?  You give.  Not your leftovers, but you give your best.  You sacrifice yourself for the sake of others.  Isn’t this the clear picture that God gave us by giving his son?

Take warning all who are laying on burdens and complicating God’s nature. Stop!  God is immense, but He’s not complicated.  The bottom line is that faith is meant to be enjoyed through the relationship built with your heavenly father – your creator.

If you see God as “hidden” and complicated, then you’ve been sold a bill of goods by someone who didn’t necessarily understand the nature of God.  Tear away the rituals, rip apart the doctrines, and understand God as the creator, father, and example of Holy relationships.

May you be content in knowing that God is near you.  And may you come to understand that God will not “give you a snake if you ask for a fish”, but offers freely the gift of His Spirit so you can come to know Him fully.

 

Grace and Peace,
Greg Arnold
Acts 4:31

About

Welcome, and thanks for dragging yourself over to Live|Bold! My name is Greg Arnold and I am pumped to see you here. This interactive online community is here to point every man toward the cross. Whether you have been a follower of Christ for ages, or you are just stumbling into this strange new world of faith, we have something of value to offer you. This online e-zine is a cross between a blog, a social network, a resource center, and a pulpit. My hope is to inspire you to live your faith on the outside and be a real man for God. We need you in the fight.