The Briar Patch

A painful change that occurred in my twenties was the realization that the center of Christianity, especially in the New Testament, is relationships. I preferred rules over relationships. I liked the old-time religion that focused on the dramatic power of God to do miracles—power we could use to make life easier.

Folks who believe in the power of prayer like to point out that Isaiah caused the sky to withhold rain for three years. But this was God’s plan, not Isaiah’s. This was not a way for a human to brag about his power or even his closeness to God. But since the kingdom of God is now within human hearts and God wants His “kingdom” to be pure, He allows difficulty as a way of creating that purity.

God used miracles and even violence to create a home for His people in the Old Testament. And I wondered about creating that environment now. I realized that creating a righteous, Old Testament environment would force me to use evil methods. All through history, people who wanted to duplicate God’s kingdom used Old Testament methods in a New Testament world.

The Bible describes Christianity. But words are inadequate in fully describing Christianity just as a fax is inadequate in fully describing a pizza. A fax doesn’t communicate flavor, and words can’t adequately describe the Christian life. Since the enemies of true Christianity have often written history, words may tell the wrong story. Dates and events, the driest of information, will be right, but the analysis or interpretation may not.