Unsatisfied

When I was finished Bible school I expected that I would have nearly the amount of opportunities to learn as I did when I was there. God has chosen to bless me with a rather interesting boss though. He is a Christian, but sometimes I really disagree with the way he says things, or some of his view points. Sometimes he completely blows me away though. He is not a guy that likes to be told what to believe, nor am I. He brought me an article today about dieing to sin. I can't really explain all that was in the paper, cuz there was so much to think about. I just wonder if we, as North America Christians, have developed a misconception about what it really means to have died with Christ, and died to sin. And then how do we live it out. The article I read can be found at www.theshovel.net, in the writings section under Romans. I think the guy has a very good point that we seem to have this notion that dieing with Christ is a metaphor, but he gave a very good reason for why it is not just a metaphor. This afternoon, when I got home from work, I was listening to the song "Grace Like Rain" by Todd Agnew, and it got me thinking about what grace really means. My thoughts didn't have a whole lot of time to form on that topic, but I have been wondering a lot in the last few months whether we are really living out the faith God has so graciously blessed us with the way we were meant to live it out. I really think that if we had a better understanding of all that Christ did for us, and how unmetaphorical it is, that we would live radically different lives. A big movement over the last while has been experiential Christianity, to always "feel" like God is near, or that you have the Holy Spirit in you, or just feel good all the time about life and God and whatever else. This movement has pushed Christians away from actually thinking through what they believe. Believe me, I have seen friends follow this line of thinking. As one of my college profs said, the sort of subconcious moto of this mindset is that "I am a Christian, I am stupid, and I am proud of it." I urge those who read this to not just swallow what mainline Christianity feeds you. Think things through, see if that is what the Bible really says, research it. There is nothing wrong with questioning what you believe, it gives you the chance to grow. Paul commended the church in one of his letters for researching what he was teaching them to make sure that what Paul was saying was right. Anyways, I think that is enough ranting for one night.