Weblog Entry - 02/19/2003: "Volume 10 - Snap Crackle Pop Christianity by Stephanie Bennett"

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02/19/2003 Entry: "Volume 10 - Snap Crackle Pop Christianity by Stephanie Bennett"

Understanding our purpose in life is an immensely important need, but it is often grossly misunderstood. All too often attaining our "purpose" is mistaken for personal achievement.

In so many ways, purpose seems so luminous and vast. Some spend their entire lives searching for it. Others becoming fixated on a goal and their ‘purpose’ becomes achieving that goal. Although it is advantageous to set goals and work toward them, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we don’t have to settle for this temporal success and pretend it satiates our need to find ‘purpose.’ Rather, we find deep and meaningful purpose in our lives as we identify with God’s Eternal Purpose and His plan for our own life on Earth.

To do so, we must first be aware that our individual purpose is inexplicably linked to a larger plan, and then come to see how very much we each are already a part of it. That having been said, it becomes clear that ‘purpose’ is not so much a question of, "will we achieve or attain the purpose for our lives?" but rather, "are we ‘a part’ of God’s purpose for our lives?"

To tackle this question let’s take a moment to consider ‘where’ we each are in the scope of things Eternal. If we know Jesus Christ, then we are a part of God’s family, a member of His living, flowing, body on Earth. To ‘know Him’ means we are what the New Testament explains as being,"in Christ," and once that it settled, the issue of ‘purpose’ becomes immediately less obscured. Being ‘in Christ’ wondrously causes us to be a part of God’s unchangeable, blessed and beautiful, Eternal purpose.

God’s Eternal purpose is not one that holds a pat answer or easy formula. His purpose is full of mystery; it is changeless, yet it is still unfolding. Certainly we do not know all, but what we do know of His ultimate intentions for the world, (i.e., His Eternal purpose) is that God desires a people. He longs for ones that will believe in Him, trust in Him, cling to Him, and who are called by HIS NAME. He has made it clear throughout history that He desires a people who know Him, and who experience the fellowship with Him for which we were first created.

The idea that there exists on this Earth a ‘people of God,’ is not a new idea. God always longed for a people to call His own. First, He called Abraham; He told him that he would be the ‘Father of all nations,’ the first among many who would be set apart from the world. God told Abraham that His people would be ‘a peculiar people’, set a part for His purposes to be a light to all nations. This same plan continues to unfold to this very day, as new believers in Jesus Christ become part of this wonderfully ‘peculiar’ people of God. Someday, the people of God will come into complete union with our Maker at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and when what we have ‘known in part,’ will become ‘fully known,’ we shall be with Him in glory forever!

Another important attribute of the people of God is that although we are a part of this world, we are not ‘of’ this world. We are ‘of Christ,’ that is, bought with the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ, renewed and restored to fellowship with God through the salvation that only He can bring. Through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and the resurrection of His body, we, along with everyone else who calls upon the Name of the Lord, are a part of that people whom God calls ‘His own.’

Right along side this beautiful plan there exists another version, and it is operative in the world. Like pop-psychology, pop-music, or pop art, today’s popular version of Christianity is but a scant outline of what it means to really know the living Lord Jesus Christ. This version is what I have termed ‘pop-Christianity,’ and it is but a poor substitute for the reality of living ‘in Christ.’ Understanding the difference is especially important when considering ‘purpose,’ for if we find ourselves caught in the web of the substitute, we may well trudge along our life, ‘in Christ,’ still wondering about our life’s purpose.

So, what exactly is "pop" Christianity? Well, without a strict definition, let’s just say that it is often what those who don’t know the Lord look at, and shrug off as just ‘more of the same.’ Pop-Christianity isn’t always easy to differentiate from the Truth of Jesus Christ, but there are some ways to detect its infiltration into our mindset. First, it specializes in nice little sound bites and snappy formulas for success. Secondly, it plays upon trends in the marketplace, fads, commercialism, man-made titles, hierarchy, and the pride of life. Pop-Christianity’s desire to ‘let the world know" is often more splashy and dramatic than it is real. While it is true that there is nothing wrong with plastering a red and white bumper sticker on the back of our car that says, "Jesus Christ…. He’s the Real Thing," it is so much easier to be bumper-sticker believers than to live a life in total surrender to the Lord. Just like the newscasts and television commercials that use sensationalism to sell ideas and products, the tactics of pop-Christianity mimic those of the world’s marketplace. This is drastically different from Truth that transforms lives.

In pop-Christianity, Jesus Christ often appears to be more of a "Sear’s Answer Man," or an ‘angel helper on our shoulder" than Lord of All! He is ‘preached’ amidst a sea of radio preachers, televangelists, revivalists and prosperity preachers who pound their Bibles with all the drama of a Francis Ford Coppola movie, only to come up empty when the going gets rough. While these things are employed with the very best of intentions, instead of having the fragrance of Heaven, all that comes through is the stench of Earth’s grace-defying garbage heap.

Unfortunately, it is quite easy to get caught in the web of this flimsy substitute. For that reason, it is important to ask God to check our hearts, and show us if there is something obscuring our view of the reality of a living faith. We must not be afraid to ask ourselves pointed questions, such as, ‘Are we hot with intense zeal to show others "the way" but turn a cool cheek to true spirituality?’ Or, "Do we run with the crowd like a swarm of mosquitoes to hear the ‘latest, greatest preacher,’ but neglect to stir the embers of love for the Lord in our own hearts?" A quiet spirit, a gentle word, a daily diligence, and healthy respect for each other in the body of Christ are not popular issues, but they are godly ones, and they will help us live lives rich with purpose and meaning. Unfortunately, we would rather rant and rave about matters of doctrine, alienating and judging all who disagree than to turn the other cheek, and ask Jesus to be Lord of all our thoughts, actions, motivations, and desires. We would rather play hopscotch with scriptures, battle to the death with other believers over form and practice, and constantly cook up new ways to serve God ----everything; it seems, but laying down our rights, rituals, and religious nature in utter abandon to the Lord. Where is the reality in this type of religion? Where is Truth?

The ‘truth’ is where it’s always been --- in the person of Jesus Christ. Christianity is not ‘a way,’ nor is one of its particular doctrines or practices… it is in Jesus Christ. When He walked the Earth, He unequivocally declared it: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No many comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) We get a glimpse of this truth, and instead of falling before Him in adoration, we want to run right out and sell it to everyone we meet. We are so eager that we think nothing of reverting to marketing tactics, promotional gimmicks, and high-tech business plans to spread the Gospel. Funny, but Jesus didn’t lay out any fancy plans to spread His word. Rather, He said, "If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me." (John 12: 32).

So, what is the remedy? What is the antidote? It isn’t fair to expose a problem without offering some kind of hope. Well, there’s no fancy answer, but there is simple truth, and that is, seek the Lord. Ask Him to draw you to Himself. As we seek the Lord Himself, we will know TRUTH. Let’s not be afraid to go back to the old-fashioned faith that recognizes the place of brokenness and suffering in our lives… the place where self-sacrifice leads to self-control, meekness, joy, purity and peace. Let’s bring it forward into a REAL relationship with God, and not ignore the call of Jesus Christ when he told his disciples to leave everything and …"Follow me."

The rest and grace we long to experience daily is ours for the taking. As we partake of Him our lives will drip with purpose, and we will be fulfilled knowing we are His. The promises of God to His children have not changed one dot or iota; He still stands before us with arms outstretched waiting to dance with His beautiful bride…that girl, who is so filled with the light of His Presence that she is overflowing with grace and radiance.

"Return," says the Lord,"return to me… I will be your God and you will be my people." (Jer. 4:1 and Mal 3:7)

May we not be among those on the last day who cringe to hear these woeful words spoken through the Apostle John on the isle of Patmos: "This I have against you…you have lost your first love,"says the Lord. (Rev. 2:5). Rather, let us press on to Jesus, growing in the knowledge of the riches of Christ, allowing Him to become our everything, laying aside every earthly weight that would drag us from the heights and from the depths of His love. Let us shake off every encumbrance, turn aside from every distraction that would take our gaze off Him, and look to Jesus, … the author, finisher, and perfecter of our faith.

So dear saints of the living God, --next time the world, (whether it be unbridled hedonism or staunch religiosity) shoves a bowl of snap crackle pop Christianity under your nose, may we have the courage and the boldness to push away it’s candy-coated, nutritionless fare. Let us stand up, be counted as part of God’s own sons and daughters, and be nourished by the true food that is Jesus Christ our Lord!