Open Heart Surgery

This week I opened up the door for you readers to ask a question, and received some awesome responses. While I would like to answer all of them, for now I only have time for one. One young lady asked,

"If I'm saved by grace and forgiven for all sin (past present and future), why do I have to change my lifestyle? Friends? Surroundings? Walk?"

I feel like this is one of those issues that pushes people away from the idea of walking into a church, engaging in a spiritual conversation, and more importantly just reading the Bible. Nobody likes the feeling of somebody trying to change them, no matter how powerful, smart, or well-intentioned the person is. We all have that person in our lives...

That family member who always has something negative to say about us:
"Pero mija, que gorda estas!"

That friend who always wants to change the way we do something:
"You're such bad shooter! Just pass ME the ball!"

That math teacher that has it out for you:
"Sorry, but you need to show your work the way I taught you to solve the formula." 

The more people try to change us, the more we try to avoid them. Christians need to understand this better than anyone else, because it seems like they are always trying to change people. This question, coming from a Christian, shows the misconception clearly. We forget that it is GOD who changes people, and feel like we have to change our lives ourselves.

When I came to Christ, nobody gave me a rule book of things I was supposed to do, or not do. Nobody sat down with me and gave me a "new believer orientation" with a basic layout of things that were forbidden. Nobody showed me a bunch of scripture verses that looked down upon drinking, drugs, sleeping around, or cursing. And if someone who claims to be a Christian is giving you any of these, make distance. Quickly. You don't want to associate with someone like that just yet.

So how did my views, practices, morals, and interests change? God performed surgery; Open Heart Surgery. During the first two years of my walk with Christ, I still enjoyed the nightlife, partying at all the craziest clubs, and throwing house parties. When I got baptized, these interests didn't just "go away". It wasn't until my relationship with God grew that I lost interest in these things.

We forget that our relationship with God is just like any relationship with people. The more you get to know someone, the more you learn about them. And if you truly fall in love with them, you will do the things they like because you love them. Not because you have to. Not because they'll punish you if you don't, but because you just want to make them happy for making you happy. In the same way, while we are given complete grace for our sins by Christ dying on the cross, an obedience to the ways of God has nothing to do with obeying laws, and everything to do with showing God we love Him and put Him first.

And to run with this a little bit further, it is these very changes He makes in our lives that make the quality of life so much better! He doesn't just make up these things to have us perform for Him... My life has just been drastically less chaotic, less stressful, and less complicated since I left the "trap" and began listening to God. It's not that life becomes easy when we follow Christ, but that we now know what we are living for. A life completely devoted to Jesus Christ heads in one direction: Heaven.

Girls... Just Want to Have Fun?

Girls aren't the only ones. Humanity is plagued with this unquenchable desire to find pleasure. No matter where you travel, what you do, or how fast you go, you will always want more.

It is for this reason people spend 5+ days a week working, for two (or less) days of enjoyment. We pour everything into gaining what we need in order to have fun. We do all we can so that at the end of our life we can say, "That was enjoyable."

Yes, we value our priority to provide for our families. And yes, we say we want our lives to be one that helps the world become a better place. But all this ties around the fact that we all want to be able to say that we had a good life; one that we can honestly say we enjoyed.

If you reflect on your past- (if your young, you have less reflecting to do, but your time will come)- you will notice that the memories you cherish most involve people. 

Birthday parties with friends...

Accomplishments shared with coworkers...

Family vacations...

Romantic evenings with a special someone...

Christmas mornings with the family...

If people have been the center of our joyous memories, why do we live as if the money we make determines the joy we experience? Can you only enjoy the company of a person while on a roller-coaster with them? Or can that same person be just as enjoyable sitting on your couch? Is it the surrounding environment and situation that makes you enjoy somebody, or is it something more?

It irks me when parents spend so much time working, that they neglect their children. It's as if they think they can spend the next 10 years of their life working real hard, and then treat their children to all the luxuries that come along with wealth. The truth is, time ISN'T money. It's worth so much more. We will never be able to change what we did yesterday, but we can use it as an example for tomorrow.

Once again, if people have been the center of our joyous memories, then we should place a higher importance on the role people play in our everyday life. And when we do this, we display one of God's most evident characteristic: A Love for People.

In the last post I quoted John 10:10b: 

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus says he came to give us an abundant life. Not to enjoy a vacation, or to provide for his family, or to experience romance. He came for people. Now, an abundant life can include all of the above, but I have a feeling that what this Jesus guy meant was that if we correctly prioritize the values we place on different proponents of life, we will enjoy it to the full. Not only to the full, but forever.

No matter what religious system you belong to, in your own way you wish to enjoy life to the full. I would even go as far as to say that if life were enjoyable to this capacity, you'd even want to live forever. Life, as it appears now through these worldly lens, is not something we'd want to have forever. But when we take off the distorted glasses we've put on because of sufferings, we see how beautiful life can be if lived correctly.

This leads me to my closing question.

What does an abundant life look like to you?