I have often heard people (even Christians) poke fun at various religious beliefs which seem to be especially outrageous. Reincarnation (Hinduism), the third coming of Christ (Unificationism), virgins awaiting the newcomer to heaven (Islam), Xenu and evil extra-terrestrials (Scientology). And sure, like any religion with a supernatural element, any objective, unfamiliar assessment (which may well not exist) of it will lead one to scratch their head and think how silly it sounds.

But while most Americans don’t seem to bat an eye at the basic concepts of Christianity, I submit that Christianity would be, in fact, the craziest.

When we hear the ancient bells growling on a Sunday morning we ask ourselves: Is it really possible! This, for a jew, crucified two thousand years ago, who said he was God’s son? The proof of such a claim is lacking. Certainly the Christian religion is an antiquity projected into our times from remote prehistory; and the fact that the claim is believed – whereas one is otherwise so strict in examining pretensions – is perhaps the most ancient piece of this heritage. A god who begets children with a mortal woman; a sage who bids men work no more, have no more courts, but look for the signs of the impending end of the world; a justice that accepts the innocent as a vicarious sacrifice; someone who orders his disciples to drink his blood; prayers for miraculous interventions; sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god; fear of a beyond to which death is the portal; the form of the cross as a symbol in a time that no longer knows the function and ignominy of the cross — how ghoulishly all this touches us, as if from the tomb of a primeval past! Can one believe that such things are still believed?

from Nietzsche’s Human, all too Human

“Sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god.” This is the cornerstone of Christianity’s would-be madness. Though none of us bats an eye, or even wonders at it.

If the statement “It’s so crazy, it must be true”, were ever true, it would be so of Christianity. In this way, Christianity is completely unique among world religions. Of course, it has its similarities as well. The core principles are absolutely all its own and unlike anything else.

Man would sin against God and lose all hope in himself for reconciliation, but in the face of that, God himself would become the reconciliation for man.

In the climate of the many world religions out there, For me, and many others, the uniqueness and, in a sense, the absurdness of Christianity adds a drop into the bucket of evidence which helps to strengthen my faith. Ironically, quite the opposite of Nietzsche.

1 Corinthians 11:1

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

Paul writes these words to the Corinthians. He has just explained some of how he chooses to interact with the Lost. Giving up many of his own liberties, at times, to better meet those people where they are. And so he tells the Corinthian church to imitate him, as he imitates Christ.

This verse is often used in the more direct sense that we should imitate our leader’s as they attempt to imitate Christ. This is an apt application of the scripture. But it occurred to me this morning as I was reading that we could also probably apply this in a broader sense as well.

As believers we all are imitators of Christ. We all have his Word and his Gospel. While the early church needed leaders to be a kind of ‘walking scripture’ to remind them of the Truth (they didn’t have very may written copies yet, and no one had a copy all to themselves which they could study daily), we now have the written transcripts and almost all of us have one all to ourselves. Those leading figures in our community remain important, but perhaps not always in the exact same way.

Because of this, we are all in a position to learn from each other and pour into one another. In some ways, we are all to each other, as Paul was to the Corinthians. We are all imitators of Christ to each other.

It stands to reason, with some limit, that we ought to not only look to our assigned leaders for our example, but also each other as to how to imitate Christ. To assess what is honorable in each other and imitate that.

Perhaps I have a great will and ability to read and study God’s word, while you have a great will and ability to seek God in prayer. These are both honorable things, and looking to each other, we should see what is good and attempt to emulate that as well.

I suspect this would help us to have a healthier view of following and serving God in our various ways, rather than idealizing church leadership and viewing that as the ‘pinnacle’ of following Christ.

Mark 5: 24:31

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’"

In this story, Jesus is traveling to heal a girl who was sick and would eventually die, then later be brought back to life by Jesus. In transit, Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd who is pressing up against him, attempting to hear what he might say or see what he might do.

In the midst of this crowd was a woman who was suffering from a constant discharge of blood. The physicians of the day only served to drain her finances and leave her health worse off than when she started. Discovering Jesus, she wanted to get close to him. If nothing else, only to touch the fringes of his clothing. She succeeded and was healed. But when this happened, Jesus took notice. Even in the midst of a huge crowd that was obviously pressing up against him at times, he noticed the woman who had been healed.

Do you suppose she was the only one in the crowd afflicted with something? Perhaps she was the only one who was written about. But it could also be that, though there were many other people touching him, she was healed, while their experience was irrelevant.

She, presumably unlike the others, went to touch his garment in faith that she would be healed, while the others perhaps just out of hype or personal curiosity.

For me, this reminds me that simply knowing about Christ, or being in close proximity to the truth (i.e., in church every Sunday) isn’t enough to bring significant change to our lives. We have to press up against him actually believing that something will happen.

This is hard to do. But  remembering is a good step in the right direction.

Psalm 81:11-13:

"But my people did not listen to my voice;
   Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
   to follow their own counsels.
Oh, that my people would listen to me,
   that Israel would walk in my ways!”

In this passage, Asaph illustrates an important principle which runs throughout all of scripture. And, it’s one I’ve written on before.

There are times when a believer succumbs to destructive habits in his or her life and rides them out for a time. The severity varies, but most of the time the root is the same. God, at times, gives a believer up to his or her own sinful inclinations as a means of discipline. Discipline is good. Something like a parent allowing a child to get burned so they learn that it hurts.

While at times indulging our flesh feels rewarding, the underlying fact is that it is destructive and bad for us. When a believer enters a time like this, it isn’t long before they realize that they are suffering and return stronger than before.

This is why, I believe, a consistently good relationship with God won’t always look like obvious sanctification. Rather, sanctification will sometimes actually include times of serious struggle or even repetitive failure. For the believer, I believe, this is part of the sanctifying process we have to go through.

Of course, that doesn’t mean we go out in search of ways to gratify our flesh. No, we continue to seek God and seek to be like him. But when, we face times like these, we should feel encouraged. God is patient, molding and teaching us to be more like him, employing even the unexpected things we do and experience in order to meet his intentions for us.

The past couple weeks I’ve really been dwelling on the idea of remembering Jesus—remembering the Gospel. As I read today, this passage in the beginning of Psalm 77 stuck out to me.

You hold my eyelids open;
   I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
   the years long ago.
I said, "Let me remember my song in the night;
   let me meditate in my heart."
   Then my spirit made a diligent search:
”Will the Lord spurn forever,
   and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
   Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
    Has he in anger shut up his compassion?"
                         Selah

Then I said, "I will appeal to this,
   to the years of the right hand of the Most High."

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
   yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

Asaph describes his turmoil and mental anguish over his circumstances. Then shifts immediately. He says that he will remember God’s works and ‘wonders’ of old.

Every Christian can attest to God’s power to provide strength and comfort. Yet, we all quickly forget that he has done so for us in the past, when our present seems to fall apart. Like Asaph, we should make a careful point to remember what God has done for us in the past, in his Gospel in general and our lives in specific, to give us confidence for the future.

Toward the end of Deuteronomy before Israel crosses over into the promised land, God gives a song to Moses which is intended to be a sharp reminder in the people’s ear of their wickedness and proneness to sin. But more importantly, it’s stark contrast to God’s mercy and grace on his people.

Deuteronomy 31:19-21:

"Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give."

The song, which comes in the following chapter, is delivered to be a reminder and to deliver conviction to the wandering soul. God has been merciful, yet is a God of wrath.

This, of course, reminds me of my own inclination to please myself and my own constant need to remember the Gospel of Jesus, which is given for similar reasons yet from a very different direction.

The Gospel reminds us not only that we are sinful beings, and that God is a God of wrath, but also that he is gracious and patient. It is not his wrath that will lead us to repentance, but his grace! Remembering this can give us the confidence and strength to stand and trust God to sanctify us and conform us to his own image.

About a year ago I posted a review of a book by Milton Vincent called A Gospel Primer for Christians.

The book’s aim is this very thing. To help Christians remember the basic, strength giving, tenets of the Gospel. It begins with an explanation of the Gospel and concludes with a simple rehearsal of those truths for Christians to remember on a regular basis.

For me, this book has been a great blessing toward this end. It’s usually less than $10 and worth every penny.

Much like Moses’ song delivered to Israel to remind them, we can use similar tools to remember Jesus’ Gospel and find strength to move foreword even in the face of our own opposition.

It is no secret that I have many grievances with the institutional church. I have few reservations in saying that I think it barely breaks even in doing good, versus doing harm to its own and the world who needs to hear the Gospel.

As I read in Romans 15 tonight, Paul talks about his freedom to now come and visit the church in Rome since his doors for service in his own region were coming to a close. So, to better understand the passage, I read from Matthew-Henry’s classic commentary on the text. And one short phrase stood out and left a very bitter taste in my mouth.

It is justly expected from all Christians, that they should promote every good work, especially that blessed work, the conversion of souls. Christian society is a heaven upon earth, an earnest of our gathering together unto Christ at the great day.

Christian society is a ‘heaven upon earth’. In other words, the corporate church is a heaven upon earth.

Well, yes, perhaps in isolated places. Perhaps even in Matthew-Henry’s time this was true. It’s hard to say, really. But for me, in my experience and the experience of many others, this sentiment does not resonate whatsoever. There is little more charity in the institutional church than in the world at large. But, in the church, there is far less acceptance or ‘love’—even patience or forgiveness.

But I do notice that Matthew-Henry deliberately uses the word ‘a’ in order to describe this present ‘heaven’. Of course we cannot attain here what we will truly have with Christ, there.

Nonetheless, the church ought to be something like a heaven on earth, in certain respects. And while the institution will never be perfect, we cannot accept the flaws by that virtue. Much like our own personal pursuits of Christ, we have to continue to tear down the flawed structures and at least attempt to rebuild stronger, more effective ones—regardless of the ‘cost’.