There
is a charge made that those who believe in God do so only as a crutch to escape the
harsh realities of this world. Instead of being able to take life’s challenges
head-on, they create a parental figure to believe in, call it God, and go about
their merry way. For most people, this is ridiculous on its face. History is
replete with examples of thousands facing very real, very visceral, very
painful challenges even to the point of death in the name of God without trying
to escape it at all. These people stand on the foundation that God has placed
them on.
Think of man able to weather all
sorts of storms in life while his family is there to support him. Should his
family crumble, however, the core of his life give way, it will not take much
to bring him into destruction. In the case of God, it is not escapism, but a
foundation to build our lives on. It is precisely because God is such an immutable being, such a Rock, that a man can
build his life on Him, and return to Him for stability, strength, and
refreshment. In this sense there is
an “escape,” but it is one that prepares him for engagement with the world and
its difficulties instead of simply hiding him from such things.
There are, however, those who do
think of God as a place to hide from the tempests and trials of life, and even
encourage others to do so. They may even write nice sounding songs about “Jesus,”
but it is not a reflection of the real Jesus that we read of in the Bible. Do
not misunderstand; I am not saying
that Jesus is not able or willing to comfort us in times of need. We see Him
time and again giving sympathy to those who need it or who need a brief respite
in His presence. What I am saying is
that the same Jesus who said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest,” (Matt. 11:28) is the same Jesus who expected all (yes, all) of His followers to go into the world and make disciples of
all men. Jesus did not come to enable us to escape life. He came to give us
life more abundantly (Jn. 10:10).
To maintain this view of God, and
to perpetuate it, can bring a great deal of harm to many people even outside
the one that holds it:
1. They see Jesus saying only “Come
unto Me,” instead of, “Go out in My Name.” They do not become powerful, independent
agents of Christ, but weak, unfocused, and fearful spiritual babes.
2. They encourage others with a
tendency towards this mentality to stay where they are instead of growing into
that which God intends them to be.
3. They provide critics with ammunition
for this meme, and make Jesus look unattractive to those who desire maturity
over blind sentimentality.
4. They do not fight on when things
get hard, preventing the Christian message from people in a world desperately
in need of His love and strength.
So there you have it. If you find
yourself seeking only asylum instead of growth, realize that God’s plans for
you are much bigger than that. Christianity is not to enable those who wish to
stay immature and hidden away from the world to do so. You are God’s tool to
help bring this world to Him. He will not be pleased with those who take the
gifts and skills and abilities He has blessed them with and hide them away. He
calls us to more. To put on spiritual muscle we need to put ourselves out
there. It can be scary, but He has told us that He will always be there with us
and for us. He will not let us down.
Ever.
So get out there. He has given you the victory.
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