The foundation of it all

I use my imagination a lot in my walk with God. I like to picture what it was like for the people in the Bible, to imagine their lives and what I would have felt in their place. Pictures come to me sometimes when I pray.

Over the past years, I have had different pictures of who I am in this journey. I have seen myself as a precious child; I have seen myself as a warrior. Most recently I have imagined myself as the servant of my Lord. I am very secure in how He values me, and in that context I have lately considered how Jeremiah was never allowed to marry; how Ezekiel was told his wife would die and he could not mourn her; how Hosea was commanded to marry a woman who would betray him more than once with other men. In one of the parables Jesus told, God is portrayed by the lazy servant as a "hard master":

Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. (Matthew 25:24-27)

The master in the story embraces the label. I have been considering how I serve a hard master, not because I am frustrated with Him, but because I am considering the deep respect other followers have shown Him by giving Him everything. I want to lay down my own will--that is perhaps a different blog entry.

This morning I was contemplating what it means to pray and what I expect from prayer, and it occurred to me that I am not a Christian because of prayer. I am not a Christian because God gives good gifts (James 1:17). I am not a Christian because my life is better now that I follow Jesus. I was told that God was good when I was considering becoming a Christian, but my understanding of what that goodness looks like was not the basis for my relationship with God.

I am a Christian because Jesus saved me. I was separated from my Creator by rebellion and sin, and only Jesus could bridge that gap. Learning who He is now becomes my joy and responsibility. I followed Him because my life was dark and lost without Him. In Him is all light and life (John 1:4). Now that I am part of the household, my walk with God is influenced by my personality, my culture, my circumstances, the teaching I've received, the people I surround myself with. My understanding of God may differ from someone in Malaysia or Chechnya or Honduras--and possibly even from you, dear reader--but we are each of us redeemed by the blood, restored to our Father by the sacrifice of His son.

As the year begins, look at your walk with Christ. What is the rock you are building on? The rock of Jesus is our gospel, our good news, our hope and foundation. Lay aside the trappings for just a moment and remember the basic truth. When we seek to persuade others to become like us, we should share the gospel.

Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” (Acts 26:29)