I had so many questions, and I continue to find others with questions. Are there a set of rules to follow? Can I do this or that as a Christian? Will I just start living like like Jesus? Why can't I stop some of my old habits? How good is good enough? The questions go on and on...
I would like to over a series of blog posts keep returning to this question. I by no means have all the answers. I continue to learn myself. But I do believe after many years of trying to follow Jesus with my life, I have learned a few things that I would like to share.
For simplicity sake let's say there are two camps. Of course, it isn't this easy or broad, but for argument's sake let's just go this route. On one side we have people who believe that there are a list of rules that we are given to obey as followers of Christ and we should obey them. In the other camp are those who quote Paul the Apostle and say," Christ is the end of the Law". It may take us awhile to figure out how to live as Jesus wants us to, we may make many mistakes along the way, but eventually we get there. Any of these two camps sound familiar?
Camp A believes there are rules for us to keep whether we like it or not. Camp B doesn't want to be hypocritical, so they think we should be authentic. Part of being authentic is that we are going to mess up as we "discover" the life we should live.
Camp A thinks that those in camp B are moral relativists, no black and white, just grey. Those in camp B think that those in camp A are legalists. Those who live by everything the Law says and push that belief on others without showing mercy like Jesus did with sinners.
Which camp would you say you identify with more?
Which camp have you encountered at church?
What I find is that both camps are really just trying to help us to become followers of Jesus and experience the life that He has intended for us.
Let's look at another issue. What am I here for? That is a question most human beings eventually ask themselves. It is also a question you will return to after you begin to follow Jesus with your life. We go through our lives not following Jesus and we ask the question What am I here for? Then we find out it is to serve God and live the life that He has prepared for us. But after that realization comes, we ask the question again, because now we want to know how do I live that out? We also wonder, do I just wait to die so I can go to heaven? What do I do with my life? How do I live it out between now and when I go to heaven?
Essentially what I am saying is that after we believe, we ask ourselves two questions, many times without knowing we are asking these two questions.
How do I live my life out between now and the time I die?
How do I make moral choices now that I am a follower of Jesus?
I don't want to try to sell you on my view (actually I wonder if I have a view). But I would like to make us aware of some various views and explore these questions. I would like to help you explore those questions more in depth. The reason being, those two questions will be a part of your life now that you are a follower of Jesus. It all can begin with a simple question, I believe, now what?
Troy
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