Bob Coleman (a member of FCC) passed me an article last week. The article was written by Alan Jacobs and within it he makes this statement, “I am by most measures a pretty deeply committed Christian. I am quite active in my church; I teach at a Christian college; I have written extensively in support of Christian ideas and belief. Yet when I ask myself how much of what I do and think is driven by my religious beliefs, the honest answer is ‘not so much.’ The books I read, the food I eat, the music I listen to, my hobbies and interests, the thoughts that occupy my my mind throughout the greater part of every day — these are, if truth be told, far less indebted to my Christianity than to my status as a middle-aged, middle-class American man.”
As I read that statement I had to admit, though my life is different in some specific examples, I could’ve very easily written that same paragraph. By saying that I’m admitting I’m not sure God gets as much attention in my life as he should. I think, in part, it’s because He’s too quiet. My kids will yell when they want my attention. Drivers will honk their horns when they think I haven’t given them enough acknowledgment. But God . . . doesn’t do any of that. He just waits.
I also had to wonder, “Is there really a place where the sidewalk of faith ends?” Apparently because of my previous admittance above I’ve created one. I’m just sure I was supposed to. It seems like in scripture we’re told God should always remain before us. He ought to lead us. We ought to pursue Him in all things and at all times. Unfortunately though, we have allowed the “road of life” to bend away and depart from the sidewalk of spirituality and faith.
Brother Lawrence who spent a lifetime pursuing Christ at a level and with a consistency few of us will ever attain made a couple of statements I think fit well into this conundrum. Lawrence said, “The most excellent method of going to God is that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing people but purely for the love of God.” He also wrote, “It is a great delusion to think our times of prayer ought to differ from other times. We are as strictly obliged to cleave to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer.”
The context of the article by Jacobs was whether or not religion was really influential. Did it have the capacity to influence politics, social values, ethical decisions or goals? My answer would be, “Absolutely!” Faith can alter all of those things and much more . . . but the greater question is . . . how much do I really allow it to alter me?
