the question to the answer is 42

Ok, so we've already determined that when people think about Christianity, Jesus somehow gets lost in the equation, right? The question is, why? I mean, christians and non-christians alike somehow ignore him, but what's the reasoning? I think the reason is fairly simple - it's a whole lot easier to ignore Jesus. Wait, what? No deep theological explanation? Nope. It's just easy to ignore Jesus. And people love to do things that are easy. The reasons are different for christians and non-christians, but the root cause is there. For Christians, it's easy to ignore Jesus because we can never follow all the rules. Ignoring Jesus means that when we screw up (daily), we don't have to realize that we are the bride cheating on the only one who will ever truly love us. We don't have to realize that we are the son rebelling against his father time and again. Without Jesus in the picture, all we have to think about is how many people do worse things. Sure, I may have strayed a bit, but did you hear what that guy did this weekend? Man, I would hate to be him on judgement day. And on the rare occasion we do happen to follow God's direction, man oh man, are we special. We don't have to realize that Christ expects and deserves more of us than controlling a few wild urges. We don't have to consider that all our "righteous acts" are like filthy rags before God. All we need to know is how great our self-control is and how much better the world could be if there were more people like us. I mean, that stuff I did was in the past, right? Today I conquered immorality once and for all. Did it single-handedly, too. Without Jesus, our faith becomes nothing more than a list of rules that, for all we know, could help us reach nirvana. Or at least make a lot of people pat us on the back. I mean, who needs a relationship with the creator of the universe, the only perfect being, the one who died just so we could have a relationship with him, when you could get a pat on the back instead? A pat on the back is so much more physically reassuring.

Well, if you will look, rule #783 clearly states...

The other day, a friend and teammate of mine described how he wanted to go to a church and make the congregation choose what they thought was the lesser of two evils in a moral dilemma with God holding a gun to their heads. It was essentially a game of "Would You Rather" with God thrown in there. Why God needed a gun, I'm not sure. Another teammate chimed in to offer his opinion - "That's essentially all religion is anyway." I disagreed, and he defended his position - "There are rules, and if you don't follow them, God punishes you." As much as I disagree, I have to admit this is a fairly common view. In the southern christian culture we live in, however, voicing this opinion gets one relegated to the ranks of the sodomites and baby killers. That is to say, self-righteous hypocrites instantly hate you. Now, I am not saying that I agree with my teammates, or that homosexuality and abortion are perfectly ok. The point I am trying to make is that christians and atheists alike often get true Christianity confused with something insignificant - rules. The obvious difference between Christianity and religions of the world has nothing to do with rules. Christians do not have better moral rules than other religions. If you were to strictly follow the teachings of Buddhism or Hinduism, many people would applaud your moral character. However, there is something that Christianity offers that nothing else does. It's very simple. Can you guess? I sure hope so. Are you ready? OK.......... We have Jesus. Christians are not meant to set their eyes upon the Ten Commandments. Did you catch that? If we are living our lives based upon a set of rules we were probably made to memorize at age 6, we don't get it. We are to set our eyes upon the author and perfecter of our faith. For some reason, Jesus gets lost in conversation. Over the next few posts, I hope to explore why this is. I would love input, and I hope we can get this issue tackled.



p.s. - here's a haiku I wrote a while ago, just for fun

Words as art, beauty
flows from the pen majestic.
Hang that on your wall.

I have to think of a title? Crap.

This might be a little easier for me, because I am by nature a very laid-back person (and, by many people's accounts, very boring). However, I still believe it is important. What I am asking is this - slow down a bit. Did you know that one of the leading causes of heart disease in America is high blood pressure? Did you also know that it has been shown that in remote villages around the world, blood pressure is significantly lower than in America? These people have to deal with the stresses of disease, hunger, and wild animals, and their blood pressure is lower! The reason is simple - we move too quickly. In the villages in the middle of the jungle, time is not a factor. There is no rush to be at work, no appointments to keep, things of that sort. General wisdom has always seemed to find a place for a slower pace, from "Be still and know that I am God," to "In stillness the world is restored." In the world today, it is apparently very hard to slow down. I, for one, am a huge advocate of a slower lifestyle. Whether this be due to the blood pressure risks or laziness, I'm not sure yet. What I do know is that the times when I am in the most hurry are usually the times I'm enjoying the little things in life least. And I always try to follow Rule #32 - Enjoy the little things. My name is Caleb Osborne, and I approve this message.

p.s. - I just bought the new Lissie album "Catching a Tiger." I would highly recommend Lissie to anyone and everyone. That is all.