A Changed Worldview



A deer hunter wakes before the sun rises. The alarm clock reads 4 A.M., and it's pitch dark outside as he rubs his eyes and meanders down the stairs to the coffee pot. He sips a hot cup of Maxwell House as he pores over the plat book and considers his hunt that day. He slips on his long johns and wool socks, puts a couple cheese sandwiches into his pack, and grabs the keys.

The headlights shine out onto the highway as the truck moves up the hill. It pulls into the driveway off the old road and parks. Darkness is over the whole of the woods as the hunter slips out of the truck and slings his rifle over his shoulder. The LED headlamp guides his path as he quietly and calmly sneaks into his deer stand, making sure to avoid any noisy twigs in his path, lest he should alert the forest to his presence.

In the stand now, calming his breathing, he settles in to his seat. He lets out a deep yet quiet exhale, as he has made it into the woods. Serenity settles around him. The sun is lazily rising far off in the distance and has not yet begun to light the forest around him. But all around, life in the woods is carrying on. Squirrels are jumping from tree to tree, birds are rustling about. In the dark, every crunch of a leaf or flap of a wing sounds as if it is a big buck making his way toward the hunter. But yet he sits in darkness, patiently and excitedly waiting for shooting light. Slowly but surely the fog is lifted from the forest. Over the course of the next half hour the hunter can see more and more as the sunlight gradually begins to reveal his surroundings.

For many who become followers of Christ, we go through a similar process. As more and more about the gospel and Christian life is revealed to us, the light shines for us and the fog slowly lifts on our objections and different beliefs. Yes, some conversions are that "bolt of lightning" experience of God, but for most of us, we make the decision of faith over time. Eventually we come to a place where we feel deep conviction to trust Christ and we give our lives to Him and we trust that when we do so, we are receiving the forgiveness of sins that he purchased by his death on the cross. The point is that for many the process of conversion and the bringing about of a changed worldview is a series of decisions.

Tim Keller, in his book Center Church, calls these "mini-decisions."  He writes:

"Many people process from unbelief to faith through "mini-decisions." We hold to the classic teaching about the nature of the gospel: to be a Christian is to be united with Christ by faith so that the merits of his saving work become ours and his Spirit enters us and begins to change us into Christ's likeness. You either are a Christian or you are not - you either are united to him by faith or you are not - because being a Christian is, first of all, a "standing" with God. However, we acknowledge that coming to this point of uniting to Christ by faith often works as a process, not only as an event. It can occur through a series of small decisions or thoughts that bring a person closer and closer to the point of saving faith." (Center Church p. 281)

To believe the Gospel means coming to a place of undergoing a complete change of worldview, as I experienced when I turned from atheistic and God-hating person to becoming a follower of Christ. That is a big shift of thinking! Getting to that point is a process for most, and it was for me. I went from someone who worked his hardest to be a good person and seem worthy, to someone who admitted openly that I was a sinner in need of a Savior, and I trusted Christ to be my Savior.

These are a few of my "mini-decisions" and thoughts that led me toward the place where I put my faith Christ. I hope that this list encourages you to move closer to Christ as well.

  • The people at the church I attend (Hope Community Church) were just so nice! I remember just thinking, "Wow, the way people treat people here is not normal. These people are so nice, so friendly, and so welcoming." I truly felt accepted and that people were happy to have me there. 
  • A huge one for me, was that I saw people who "practiced what they preached." The people around me who were Christ followers truly were gentle, kind, loving, and forgiving. They really attempted to love their neighbor as themselves. I thought they'd be Bible-thumping hypocrites who didn't live out their faith, and I was completely wrong. 
  • I realized that the people at my church were worshipers of God. They truly love God. At first that made me really uncomfortable. I remember when someone would raise a hand in the air during a song, and I was like "that's crazy." But I was struck by the fact that people genuinely worshiped God, it really had me wondering what that was like.
  • I remember realizing that I didn't know everything, and that I didn't have to pretend to know everything anymore. I realized it was okay to be wrong. 
  • I found the Bible was fully and especially capable of explaining the world around me, especially the evil, suffering, and pain in ways that other worldviews just can't do. I started to see the Bible as truth. Slowly but surely the light of Christ was shining on my heart and the fog was lifting from my mind. Today, I've come this point, as C.S. Lewis says, "I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
Most importantly, I remember being overwhelmed by the idea of the gospel: that no matter how much wrong I had done, and despite all the mistakes I made, that I could be right with God because of the saving work of Jesus Christ. That all I had to do was repent of my sins and put my faith in Jesus, and I was forgiven completely. That idea astonished me then and it still does today. I thought I could never be forgiven, because I had turned my back on God, but I learned that he had been pursuing me the entire time. I learned that God loved me and wanted me to come near to Him, and that I could do that if I repent of my own works and put my faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement for my sins. I was astounded to know that "it is finished," and that "my sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross," because my faith in Christ means that I am forgiven and adopted as a son of God. 

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
(Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV)

That's the good news of the gospel! Jesus has done it, and it is finished. If you put your faith in him, you are free from the punishment of sin deserves, because he bore it on the cross. Because of your faith in Him, you receive the promised Holy Spirit and adoption as a son of God. As one of my favorite theologians likes to say, "That's a heck of a deal." God bless you, and may you draw near to Him through Jesus Christ.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walking in Wisdom

Image
Augustine of Hippo is famously quoted as saying to God, "You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they can find rest in you." We have to consider this: If God really is our Creator, and the Bible really is His inspired word, God's words and instructions for us are life. He is our Maker and he knows how we are made. Therefore, when we are reading the Bible, we are looking into the truth about ourselves. We are grasping onto the truth of how we are wired to operate, which means we can be learning true wisdom. Let's think about wisdom in a few contexts from the Scriptures, and we can weigh for ourselves the authority we think they deserve. A Pure Heart: Wisdom in Conduct From the New Testament James 3:13–18 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is ...
Read more

32 For 32

Image
Each year around my birthday (for the past three years), I like to share my thoughts from the previous year. These are keen and not so keen observations, musings, and the like. Feel free to read and disagree, silently judge, or even criticize these -- I'll probably never know that you did that! Those little nose pimples that you get on the inside of your nostril from time to time are the worst.  Life is really, really hard. We aren't meant to go it alone. We need community. I've lived most of my life thinking the opposite, but I'm realizing I need people more and more as I get older.  Social media lives are not reality. Who are you trying to impress? Who am  I  trying to impress? Fear is perhaps our strongest motivator. Beware of any person who tries to influence you based on your fears. Has craft beer jumped the shark? I will neither confirm, nor deny. But you know what will never jump the shark. A nice cold domestic. Also, I recently learned that Bud Ligh...
Read more

Go On Up To The Mountain Every Day (Part 2)

Image
Always wear Packers gear when you know you'll be standing on top of a mountain.  In part 1 of this 2 part blogstravaganza we looked at the depth of our need for a Savior. We saw that because of our sin, we find ourselves separated from the holy God and we are helpless to save ourselves by works of the law. The greatness of the gospel of God's grace to sinners is that while we are sinners, He redeems us and reconciles us to Himself through the blood of Jesus.  This post will look at 2 more reasons why we should preach ourselves the gospel every day.  2) The gospel magnifies God's grace in provision by bringing us in awe to the foot of the cross. We have rebelled and ruined our relationship with God on account of our sin. We cannot obey the law or any other religious practices to purify ourselves in order that we may draw near to the holy God. It doesn't work! But that isn't the end of our story! God takes us from hopeless sinners to hopeful sons! Fo...
Read more

A Prayer For 2019

Image
2019 is here, people! Out of the abundant favor of God, we are here in Nebraska as I write this, staying at a lovely AirBnB as a family, celebrating the holiday and enjoying time together. Last night, we were studying Ephesians 3 as we prepared for the New Year, and it seemed like such a fitting and beautiful prayer to ring in 2019, that I wanted to pass it along. Here is the prayer that I am joining with the Apostle Paul almost 2000 years ago in praying for myself and others, and for you and for those you love. Prayer for Spiritual Strength 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and ...
Read more

The Boy Who Walked Away Alive

Image
Have you heard about the boy who died? There is a scene in Acts chapter 20 where Luke records something miraculous that occurs in the ministry of the Apostle Paul. Late one night in a well lit upper room, Paul is sharing the good news of the Kingdom of God with a group of disciples in Troas. As night wears on, a young listener named Eutychus is overwhelmed by sleepiness and tragically falls out of a window to his death. Paul descends the stairs of the building and hovers over the boy. In the same way that Jesus assured the ruler whose young daughter had died, so Paul issues forth comfort in his speech, saying, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him” (Acts 20:10 ESV). This calls to mind life-giving resurrections told of in the ministries of Elijah and Elisha as well. The miraculous happens again, and they took away the boy alive. How can this be? How can the dead be made alive? Who invests this resurrection power to defeat this solemn and universal enemy? Truly this is t...
Read more