Get Out of God’s Way

(The beginning of Chapter 20, “Get Out of God’s Way”)

At some point in our lives, many of us say that we have faith when we really don’t, and we pretend that things are going great when they’re really not. We spend most of our time lying to ourselves—not to mention lying to everyone else. “My marriage is perfect,” we might say, when we know that that is far from true. Or, “My partner would never hurt me,” when, in fact, she makes you feel miserable all the time—or he hits you in places where it doesn’t show. Or, “I’ve got everything under control,” which may well be the biggest lie of all.

Meanwhile, God says to us, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

But guess who stands in the way of God’s plans for us? We do.

In my own case, all of my life has been a battle between spirituality and humanity. As a young boy, I thought that I was supposed to be 100 percent spiritual and 0 percent human. But then one day, when I was thirteen, I had an epiphany that allowed me to see that I could embrace both my spirituality and my humanity. My spirituality, I realized, was there to help me with my humanity, since, so long as I am in this flesh, I am corrupted, a fallen man. Many people don’t want to hear that message, which is a little too real for them. They may not want to hear that message even in church, where you might think people go to hear real messages. Not nowadays, apparently.

I grew up in churches where everything I did sent me to Hell. Playing cards sent me to Hell. Playing dominoes sent me to Hell. Going out with girls sent me to Hell. I spent more time in Hell than I ever did on Earth.

Now, some people may say that I preach a watered-down gospel because I point out that Hell wasn’t even created for us. It was created for the Evil One. Furthermore, even if Hell were created for us, no human being has the right to send any other human being to Hell. However, we do have a right to speak love and hope to others. And we do have a right to hold people’s hands when times are tough. In fact, as Paul said, we have a right to rejoice with those who are rejoicing and to mourn with those who are mourning (Romans 12:15).

But if God’s plans are for us to prosper, why do so many preachers insist that we are going to be harmed and not prosper? Why do they preach such an incomplete gospel? God created all of us—and by all I don’t mean only Christians. I mean that God also created the Jews, the Muslims, the Hindus, the Buddhists, the agnostics, the atheists, and everyone else. And our purpose is to love one another; that’s what God asks of us. If Jesus Himself said, “I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world” (John 12:47), how can we, His followers, judge others? If we look at Jesus’ ministry—His words and His walk—He did some wonderful things. In fact, He did so many wonderful things that if we were to write it all down, there would not be enough room on Earth for all the books that would have to be written (John 21:25). So what we read in the Bible is only a fraction of what Jesus did and said.

But consider for a moment how Jesus dealt with people—for example, how He interacted with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-42), whom I have discussed before. Jesus was a Rabbi, a Jewish teacher, and the woman was a non-Jew. Given the conventions of the day, she was not supposed to even talk to Him, or Him to her. But Jesus asked her for a drink, for the well was deep, and He had no bucket to draw up the water. At first, the woman was shocked that He even deigned to speak to her, not only as a Jew to a Samaritan, but as a man to a woman He did not know. Such things were not done at the time. But Jesus told her that if she gave Him a drink, He would in turn give her a drink of living water so that she would never thirst again. And so, she ran back to her village and brought the people out to hear this prophet who she thought might actually be the Messiah. We don’t even know this woman’s name, but theologians consider her to be the first evangelist.

Or recall Jesus’ treatment of the Centurion (Matthew 8:5-13), whom I have also discussed before. Do you know what a Centurion was, back in those days? His title, Centurion, refers to his being in charge of a hundred men. But how did one become a Centurion? He had to kill, destroy, crush, and rape. And when he could do that “well enough,” and get others to do it, he might be made a Centurion. Furthermore, all the Centurions were pagans. But when a Centurion rushes up to Jesus and implores him to help his servant, who is dying, does Jesus tell the man that he is a pagan with blood on his hands, and send him away? Does Jesus ask about the color of the servant’s skin, or the servant’s gender or sexual preferences? No. The Centurion knows that he is unworthy to have Jesus in his house, but he tells Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Matthew 8:8). Jesus is amazed by this, and tells His own followers, “I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith” (Matthew 8:10), and He heals the servant (Matthew 89:13).