By Thomas Jerke
When asked by young and/or new followers of Christ, what wisdom I can share from my 81 years of living life in this broken world and traveling the path of worshipping my Lord and Savior, I have a ready answer. My response often baffles the listener and may even confuse some. They may initially think I have lost touch with reality, which at my age may be a real possibility. But in this respect, I have not.
In our present world where every problem must have a solution, where man has developed quantum physics and parallel physics to learn more about our universe and existence, when we have constructed amazing telescopes to be able to see deeper and deeper into our universe. It seems that we are attempting to find out if God’s creation ever ends. And now we are asked to embrace AI, artificial intelligence. Its name says it all. Man is attempting to create a device which is more “intelligent” than man. Maybe that will put God to shame; put Him in his rightful place.
So, what advice do I give in this complex, ever expanding world we live in? What is the most critical advice I can give for you to allow God into your life? It is simple, KEEP IT SIMPLE!!
But how is that possible when the textbook for this course is 66 books long with around 1,500 pages? Plus, it is so complicated and sometimes downright confusing. Not to mention it is very old timeish.
Believe me, I understand. After all these years for me, there are still parts or messages in the Bible that are confusing, and I don’t fully understand. But you need to understand that as smart as we think we are, our ability to know all things is very limited. This is a text which has withstood the test of thousands of years and continues to be relevant today, if you keep it simple.
So, what does that mean, and how do you do it?
For me, the precept is very simple. I believe in God, and I trust that He is who He says He is, and I have faith that he will do what he says He will do.
So, what does that involve? How does one come to have belief and trust and faith in the Lord our God? First, God tells us in Revelation 3:20 that he is simply waiting for an invitation to come into our lives. Revelation – 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.
There is nothing that God wants more than to be invited into your life. All you need do is want him with you and invite him in. Open the door to your heart and let him in. It is that simple. God doesn’t complicate the process, we do.
You are not required to memorize seven books of the Bible and pass an oral exam. You will not undergo a vetting process or a background check. Just purposefully say, “Come in Lord, I sincerely want you in my life.” And if you bring Him into your existence now, He has a special offer for you. If you sign up now, not only do you get a Heavenly Father to care for and love you, you also receive his Blessed son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit to dwell with you. Three for the price of one.
Now, one might ask, how do I come to believe that God exists; that he is real? The simple answer is, because God is who He says He is. But for we weak-minded earthlings, it is through faith. Roget’s Thesaurus says faith is: confidence, trust, belief, assurance, acceptance, hope, certainty and more. What does the Word of God say regarding faith? Hebrews – 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Now, one may ask, ‘How can you have faith in something you do not even know for certain exists? But yet we apply faith to so much in our daily lives without even thinking about it. I think it is safe to say that we all have faith that the sun will rise once again tomorrow morning. We have faith that we will wake to see the sun rise in the morning. We have faith that those in our life who love us will continue to love us. These are just a few examples of things in our lives in which we place our faith. We believe and have faith that certain things will happen on a daily basis.
Well, that textbook I referred to earlier, it tells us that we need only to have faith that God exists, and we can depend on him to care for us and love us, just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Ephesians 2:8-10 explains it well. 8- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God 9- not by works, so that no one can boast. 10- For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Just take a moment to think about what was just read. It is truly amazing. God created us to be his children, before we were even brought into this world. He wants us to be with him and he with us. And all we need to do is choose to invite him in. Open that door and welcome God into our hearts. We do not need to do anything to earn our way into a life with our creator. Just invite him in. Doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Okay, so how does one go about inviting God into their life. First and foremost, you must believe. Hebrews chapter 11 verse 6 sets the stage. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Once you have communicated to your Heavenly father that you believe in him and that he is who he says he is, The apostle Paul gives further instructions in the book of Romans. (Romans 10:9-10) 9- If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord; and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10- For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Pretty straight forward and simple. You don’t have to pay an enrollment fee; you do not need to write a 30-page essay. Just profess your belief in God the Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and open the door and invite him in.
I think we have a clear picture of how important faith is to this whole process. It helps to keep it simple.
I now want to ask you to join me in a metaphor if you will. But before doing so, I want to make it very, very clear that this is my own imaginative creation. It is not Biblical. But I ask you to put on your imagination hats and follow along on this visionary journey as we listen in on a conversation, we might have eavesdropped upon some two thousand years ago. This exchange is taking place as our Heavenly Father addresses his one and only son, Jesus. It might have sounded something like this.
“My son, this will likely not surprise you, but I have been thinking a lot about the situation down on earth. I gave my people the ten basic rules, laws, I wanted them to follow in order to have a room here in my house. But now as I look down upon what they have done, I see that they have created so many of their own rules and regulations it is next to impossible, in their minds, to earn a heavenly home. What I intended to be quite simple they have made extremely complicated. They appear to be more focused on their laws and are less concentrated on me.
“The reason I invited you into this conversation is because I have a plan which I hope will bring man’s attention and focus back where it belongs. And that action involves you.”
If God didn’t have Jesus’ attention before, I am certain he has it now. God continues.
“I feel it is necessary to send a messenger to my people in order to reestablish the basic creed to be followed and lived out for man to have a place here with me. In the past I have assigned prophets to relay my messages and occasionally an Angel. But it seems I need to do something more dramatic; something that will have a more lasting impact. I need a messenger who will reach out not only to my chosen people, but to all of mankind. That will include not only the Israelites, but also the gentiles and people of all nations.
“I am sending you, my son. You will be the messenger to spread my word. You will be the Word. Now, I have decided, after much deliberation, that you must go to earth as a man. I believe by your presenting your holiness as a man you will be better able to relate to the people you are teaching, plus they will be more open to receive your word. I have already selected your earthly mother and father. One of our angels is already in route to give them their instructions.”
God looks toward the heavens and chuckles. “It will create quite a stir among the people. You see, your mother will be a virgin.
“What will also create wonder and amazement is that though you will be there in the person of an earthly man, you will continue to have heavenly powers. Through your Godly miracles people will come to believe that I am who I say I am and am in control of all things and all powerful.
“Now I am obligated to tell you this son, it will not be easy for you. As a mortal man you will suffer. You will be ridiculed and scorned for not everyone will accept you and your teachings. I am very sorry, but you will also be sacrificed. But you will be resurrected after three days, and you will eventually return to sit at my right hand. But through the shedding of your blood, you will create a path by which man will be forgiven of his sins. You will become my sacrificial lamb.
1 Corinthians 5:6-7 6- Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7- Get rid of the old yeast so that you may be a new unleavened batch—As you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb has been sacrificed.
Ephesians 5:2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Then God says to Jesus, “You will be given the messages, the words to say. You will inform those around you of how easy and uncomplicated it is to have a place in heaven; however, the journey will not always be easy. But the message will simply be the importance of love. I love my people, and I wish for them to love one another and me in return.”
It is quite possible that God now walks over to his son Jesus Christ and kisses him on the cheek and tells him that he loves him. He then walks back and sits on his throne.
At this moment, as scripture tells us, Jesus becomes the Word!
I feel I need to add a disclaimer to the metaphor. As we know, God and Jesus were together as one at the beginning of creation and it is quite possible that Jesus knew of his life’s story from the very beginning. There are numerous references in the Old Testament of the Bible which foretell the coming of Christ and of his crucifixion and resurrection.
John 1:1-2 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (Repeat this verse)
I know for new believers and certainly for those considering becoming followers of Jesus, one of the God aspects they often question is, are God and Jesus actually one and the same? This verse from John makes it clear, yes, Jesus and God are one. And yet, Jesus had his own physical being separate from and away from God. To me this further illustrates the magnificence, power and wonder of our Heavenly Father.
John 1:14 – The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Revelation 19:13 – He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
Romans 10:17 – Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
So, Jesus was delivered into this world with Mary and Joseph as his parents. However, even in childhood it would seem that Jesus was aware that he was the son of his Heavenly Father, and that Joseph was his earthly dad. As Jesus grew and moved through his childhood, he likely had some cuts and bruises as with any child. But he made it to manhood and at around thirty years of age, he began carrying out his Father’s work; he began spreading the Word and performing miracles.
So, what was the most important, simple message Jesus taught to his disciples and all who came to listen to his teaching? One could say there was a central theme – LOVE. In a world of turmoil, suffering and pain, we learned that God gives us relief through his love, and he wants us to love one another as he loves each and every one of us, all eight billion of us. God is Love!
Psalms 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 Corinthians 8:3 But whoever loves God is known by God.
1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4-16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
As we live our lives, as we struggle through the daily demands of our earthly existence, what is one of, if not the strongest desire we experience? We want to, no need to, be loved. One of the strongest feelings of despair for a person is the emptiness of not feeling loved.
The sense of being loved is paramount to our experience of happiness. And love in its purest form is so simple. To anyone who has experienced the pure, unadulterated love of a small child knows love in its simplest yet deepest form and that is the love our Heavenly Father has for us.
Mark 10:13-16 13- People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14- When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15- Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ 16- And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
I believe that what Jesus is telling us through this exchange is that if we wish to enter God’s realm, we must strive to love our Heavenly Father with the purity, simplicity and devotion as a small child loves his earthly mother and father. And you know, we all, at one time, displayed that unconditional love. The feeling and expression of love like a child. A much more difficult challenge is likewise sharing that same genuine love to our fellow man.
God simply asks that we love one-another and love the Father who has blessed us with so much. The Father who loves us so much that he sacrificed his one and only son to pave the way for us to have a place in His Heavenly home when our time on this earth is over. Through the blood shed by Jesus on the cross, God has forgiven us of our wrong doings, our sins and we only need to open that door when he knocks. All we need do is believe, trust and have faith that God is who he proclaims to be and open the door with open arms. Then it is a matter of loving the Lord our god as he loves us and transform that love to our fellow man. Pretty straight forward and simple.
John beautifully explains this process of loving one another. 1 John 4:7-12. 7-Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8- Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9- This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10- this is love: Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11- Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12- No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
What does it mean that Jesus was sent here as an atoning sacrifice for us? Jesus was sent to compensate for our weaknesses and frailties, to do penance for our sinful natures, to make amends for our broken humanness. And all He asks in return is that we love God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ and love each other in return. Seems like a pretty righteous response to such an amazing gift from God.
Now we may ask, how might we define what love is. This may best be illustrated by explaining, in part, what love is not. For this we turn to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. 4- Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5- It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6- Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. 7- It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Now I want each of you to close your eyes and listen to Paul’s words again.
I now want to take this one step further. Let’s take a look at what we might call the virtues of love. Now we are going to turn to the book of Colossians Chapter 3, verses 12-14. First listen as I read and then we are going to take a look within ourselves. Colossians 3:12-14. 12- Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13- Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14- And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
In his letter to the Galatians, Paul writes about human behaviors which do not generate favor with the Lord. But then he writes about those human traits that show favor to God. Galatians 5:22-23 remind us 22- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, Joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, faithfulness, 23- gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
At this point it is important to clarify a reality that we believers in God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will experience difficulties as we travel this journey called life. The love we have for God and He for us, does not mean that life is now always going to be easy and perfect. We must keep in mind that we are all broken, imperfect people in a broken and imperfect world. Not every person on this planet shares in the belief in God and his goodness that we have. We will likely be put through trials and tribulations. But for we believers, we know that God is with us and along with his love for us, He will give us strength and forbearance to get through whatever challenges come our way. He never turns his back on us nor forsakes us.
God is always here for us. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God tells us, 11- For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope in a future. 12- Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13- You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
So, to begin to bring this discussion to a close, we just need to have faith and trust that god wants to be in our lives. He gives us hope, not only for this life, but for the life to come with Him in His Kingdom. Romans 5:1-5 says it well.
- Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2- through whom we have gained access by faith into his grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of god. 3- Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4- perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5- And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
As you continue through this journey with God, remember to always carry with you, our textbook. The Holy Bible is your guide, your reference for you to be centered in truth and faith as you travel life’s course. You have at your fingertips the Word of God. Remember, “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
The Word, our blessed Jesus Christ is always with us.
It is important and necessary to read and study the scriptures. Just know that you will likely encounter parts that may be confusing, and it can be difficult to decipher Gods purpose or meaning at times. Seek teaching and guidance to help you better understand when you feel stuck.
In closing, when we get right down to the nuts and bolts, having the love of God in your life is simply a choice; a choice which will transform your life. As you are in the midst of whatever life throws at you, I would just ask that you keep your love, trust and faith in God, Simple! He loves you and wants you to love him in return. When you do, He will always be there for you. He will never turn away from you.
I want to share with you a very good reminder of how much God loves you. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16
(The word Faith appears 458 times in the NIT version of the Bible and over 200 times in the New Testament.)