It’s an objection to Christianity that every believer has heard many times in one form or another.
“The Bible is too hard to understand and trying to keep all those rules in order to make God happy is just too much to ask.”
Wise Christians will, in fact, acknowledge briefly that some verses in the Bible are cryptic and that even the most mature of believers aren’t sure what God’s plan is for certain events in the future.
The vast majority of the Bible, though, is relatively easy to understand and apply to life with even a minimum amount of thought.
I’m amazed at how people who reject Christianity because of its small percentage of abstract teachings will have no problem swallowing all sorts of odd-named pills prescribed by a doctor, even though they have no idea how the pill actually works and are clueless to the research documentation behind the pill’s creation.
It’s all about bias, actually.
It’s about the idea of surrendering authority over one’s life, not about the percentage of comprehension.
To the sincere, open-minded non-believer who approaches scripture without bias, there is an abundance of easily comprehended truth.
A verse in today’s One-Year Bible reading provides an excellent example.
“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (Galatians 6:11).
Hmmmm…… if I want to be a man of God, I don’t have to be a genius, but instead a good person whose life is characterized by the above qualities.
Notice that it doesn’t say that I have to achieve perfection in these qualities, but instead to in genuine pursuit of these qualities.
I’m so glad that the Holy Spirit instructed Paul to write this verse in the way that he did.
Because I am a sinner who sometimes resembles a cracked pot rather than a fine, porcelain vase, I fall short of perfection in my level of righteousness and godliness and so down the list.
Yet, because I have the Savior, I can tap into the grace and wisdom and strength and authority of God as I pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
For when my life is permeated with these qualities, I am imitating Christ.
That means that people see more of Him in my life and less of me. That’s what serves to make my faith more influential with others. I’m not good enough on my own to impress anybody to seek God. But as I act more like Christ, more of His influence flows through me.
It’s that simple.
I don’t have to impress people with sophisticated speeches about mysterious principles that drip with eloquence but that are clouded by obscurity.
I simply have to act like Jesus, talk like Jesus, love like Jesus and pray like Jesus.
I simply have to be righteous in my actions, godly in my attitude, faithful in my direction, loving in my interactions, enduring in the face of my fatigue and gentle in my moments of frustration with others.
Please, my friend and fellow servant of God, flee from the corruptible things of life. Make sure, instead, to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
God will smile.
And that will be more than enough reward for you.
As always, I love you
Martin
