When I took Church History at a nearby seminary, I became convinced
that every Christian should do the same. Luke recorded about 30 years of it in
the book of Acts, but there are nearly 2000 more years. The events in those
years helped me understand why there are so many denominations, isms, and chasms.
Through that, God gave me a better attitude toward others. Understanding their
background is a good first step.
It is also helpful to realize that people are religious
apart from belonging to a church or any sort of cult or group of worshipers,
whether it be God who is honored or idols. The Bible refers often to pagans who
included prostitutes in their places of worship and practices such as cutting
themselves and putting food out for their gods.
Idolatry is common, yet I wonder why anyone would worship
the sun, or wooden statues, or metal carvings. A few passages explain a little
about the root of this:
(God) has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God created the
world and all that is in it, including humanity. He put the concept of eternity
in us so we know that there is more to life than this, but we are blind to what
God has done and will do. The writer of Ecclesiastes does not explain, but the
rest of the Bible says that our sin is like a blindfold, hiding spiritual and
eternal realities. Even so, we can sense that God exists even though He is
denied . . .
For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Romans 1:19–23)
In our hearts, we know there is a God but refusing to
honor and thank Him for what He clearly reveals gives rise to a twisted spirituality
and strange religious ideas. Our understanding takes a turn away from God from
light into fuzzy and all sorts of ideas and practices — our efforts to satisfy
the longing in our hearts for eternity.
I know this longing. This week I was looking at shelves of
notes and books from Bible school and seminary, and a pile of tear sheets of my
published articles. I never read them and should purge those shelves, yet they
represent accomplishments. Throwing them away is like robbing me of my worth — but
keeping them challenges my faith. Who and what am I trusting for my worth? Will
keeping stuff I don’t need or use enrich my life more than Jesus does?
Any human longing that refuses to honor God or give thanks
to Him results in futile thinking and a host of religious replacements. Instead
of honoring the Creator, that decision results in honoring creation. This world
is more concerned about baby seals, global warming, air quality, forests and
the production of plastics than about our standing before Almighty God. Not
that we should ignore environmental problems, pollution and waste, yet the
Bible teaches a new way to live. It is not too big a stretch to recognize that
if everyone obeyed God, most of those problems would not exist, even the desire
to keep stuff that is no longer needed!
The reality is, we do not obey God perfectly, even those
of us who profess faith in Him through Jesus Christ. I mess up. However, my Christian
longing for eternity does give a different focus — hope! Someday I will be
there, and it is a perfect place. I will not need anything from this imperfect
world.
John was given a vision that showed him just a little of
what we are promised:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:1–4)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Jesus, church history began in the book of Acts, but the
need for transformed lives began much longer ago, in Eden when human beings
said NO to You and YES to sin. Jesus, You had to come. We could not fix
ourselves and the mess we made — and we still cannot do it apart from Your grace.
I do long for eternity. In the meantime, I want to always remember that You are
the only One who can fill that God-shaped void in our hearts and keep our
priorities lined up with eternal values.
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