Like A Chocolate Milkshake, Only Crunchy.

"I want nothing to do with any religion concerned with keeping the masses satisfied to live in hunger, filth, and ignorance. I want nothing to do with any order, religious or otherwise, which does not teach people that they are capable of becoming happier and more civilized on this earth, capable of becoming master of his fate and captain of his soul."
-Jawaharlal Nehru

There's something interesting happening to us, and by us, I mean the most of you reading it and those like you. The college generation and slightly beyond. It not anything short of a revival in the true sense of the word. This goes both ways though. We have people who are seeking to be true followers of Jesus and not just slapping a sticker on when applicable. We have people who are just completely throwing off anything having to do with this Jesus fellow because of what they see in the so-called "Church." Heh, I suppose in all this is better than just futzing around and claiming to be "Christians". I suppose it is unfair to strip the title of Christianity from them.

That's exactly what they have.

They have a religion. A God with a set of rules for his followers that whosoever violates shall be struck down with the full force of heaven. Lighting bolts to the max!

It seems like Jesus already dealt with these people. They were called Pharisees and were completely blind when the Author of the universe was sitting right in front of them. "You aren't following the rules!" To them the Bible was a rulebook, not a diary of a relationship. And.. I seem to have gone off topic again.. whatever that "topic" may be.

So we have this generation seeking clarity and truth in a world that deems truth to be something that is established like the formation of an institution or something (By the way, truth is still truth even if the majority deem it otherwise; it does not change). This is good. It's something I hunger for daily. Not religion. Not a rulebook. It seems we are all beginning to see this Jesus figure for what he is: not a comfortable blanket to wrap yourself in and watch as the world goes to hell, but the dirty, broken sandals of action. Jesus stirred things up. He has killed for the things he was saying as was his successors.

I think something is wrong with how we're doing this. It should be something that engulfs us; is a fire that rips through the peoples and touches anyone near it. It should be something that makes people uncomfortable. It should make people fall down on their face with revelation.

But once again, not the point. I'm writing this for encouragement and calling for a paradigm shift. God of the Universe, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit: all one person. All together yet fulfilling different roles. See, the Bible is a diary written by each of Him. God knew we'd screw this up. So he gave us all the help he could. He started off by giving us a bunch of rules that are nearly impossible to keep with the point of proving that we can't do this ourself. That we need some help.

So God sent Himself to be here too, to help us out a bit and take on the cost of our existence. Then the mediator left and in came the Spirit and left us with a choice. A relationship with this Jesus character (thereby all the rest), or do what we've been doing.

I think too often we overlook the relationship part. We keep seeing it as a bunch of rules and guidelines seeing the consequences instead of what's been given to us out of love. God yearns for us to be in a relationship with Him, to walk beside Him and trust in the One who orchestrates everything.

What baffles me is why we, myself included, have such a problem with this. Why do we value ourselves and what we created over a relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? We think we know better than what's being offered to us so we do that instead. We, the clay, say to the potter: "You're doing this wrong." or "What is this?". Since when do tools know better than the Master? (Isiah wrote about that, if you're wondering)

It's at this point where you think to yourself "Uh, you mentioned encouragement and such.. I don't see it". Well, I'm sure someone will find encouragement in these questions. They may just come away from reading this with a different perspective on things. I hope if nothing else you do this much:

Realize who you are; that we are nothing without the One who gives us purpose.. out of love. We need to heed the voice of our Ultimate Friend and do it trusting in his infinite self that both knows all and sustains all. Live in the present.

We were created in time by a God who is outside of time. We were created in the present to live in the present partially due to the fact that that's all we have. Living in the past (although it's stoic and can be known) ignores whats going on at any given moment allowing life to pass us by while we're left feeling the warm tracks rather than being on the vehicle. The future is completely unknown to us. We can project into it all we want and guess what's going to happen, but it usually ends up different than all our fretting gets us. The future in our minds is comprised simply from our fears or hopes.. hardly accurate. Both possess pain. Neither are we are created to live in. We're supposed to trust God for a reason. He currently sees everything that has happened, is happening, and is going to happen now (gasket blowing stuff, I know, but I guess that's what makes him God). We live outside what God wants us to when we hold on to the past or when we worry about the future. Why do you think the Bible says not to stay angry past the sunset or not to worry where we're going to get our next meal? Because we aren't supposed to.

This is key. This is why God calls us to trust in him. He sustains all. Anything outside of his grace is rendered inert. On top of that he knows all. He knows what's going to happen to us if we switch majors or if we apply to certain internships or move to some random place. Why do you think he asks us to do these things?

That's all. Let the Mudslinging begin. I encourage you to as well. Last thing I want is to base my life on heresy and false doctrine. I'm human, this is just what I gather. Cheers!