Under the sun

When I set out to write this, I didn't think it would be two pages long nor take me 2 hours. But I had a lot to say, and am decently pleased with how it came out. Please post your comments and reactions to this blog and the article. I don’t claim to know it all or have it all figured out. I invite your criticism to help me grow.

I want to thank my good friend Joanna for her post about this article (which you kind of need to read to understand this). It has given me something to react to as well as bring one of my essay topics into more of an actual essay form. So, I will begin by responding to the article and then add my own words.

Joanna titled her blog well- Legalistic. At first, the idea of keeping all the rules in the Bible for a one year experiment sounded interesting, potentially good, but too easily…legalistic. Then when my eyes read that Jacobs asked “strangers for permission to stone them for adultery”, I began to wonder if this guy really knew the purpose of these rules he was attempting to keep. I recently read through the first few books of the old testament, and learned a lot about the purpose of these laws God gave His people. (*disclaimer- I have had very little formal study on this; this is only based on my understanding, though I don’t think I am far off*) God gave them these laws for a few reasons. Some of them were health reasons- to keep His people alive in a world of little medical and health knowledge. Second- He is a holy God and can not be among unholy people (see Deut. 23:14). So these were ways to keep them holy (including sacrifices for their sins). I think this one relates to the above.

But the main reason I picked up was this: “The LORD will establish you as His holy people…Then all the peoples on the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you.” (Deut. 28:9-10). It is for His people; they obey, and He will bless. Why? Well, so that He will be known on earth. In short the laws were not just a list of dos and don’ts, or things to carry around with you. You obey and follow for Him, not the laws!

“’Ask not what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God.’” Oh boy, does this man have it all wrong! He claims that this experience has moved him from “agnostic” to “reverent agnostic.” Oh, look what the law can do without a relationship with the true God who commands it all! This has been an issue on my mind lately, ever since reading “Thomas Wingfold” by George MacDonald. There is Being behind those laws. And they are a way to relate and know Him. It’s not about the laws- it’s about Him. You aren’t doing anything for God, well, unless you call building a relationship with Him “doing something.” Even then, it’s not really for His sake, though He does long for the relationship. Oh, but at its core it is not about doing. That comes second. (no this is not in contradiction to my last post. The works come when as we know the God who calls us to them.)

“The Bible affected every single part of my life…” as it should! But with what purpose? If it only makes you a better person and only gives you a better life, its purpose is incomplete. The Bible affects your life now, as well as your spirit and therefore eternal life. And even more than that, it gives you a chance to meet the One who loves you and made you. It’s like a chance to meet the once anonymous donor who gave you billions of dollars just because he cares.

I must say, I love the story about the old man in the park who asked him what he was doing. This “man in his 70s” nearly offered to be stoned for being an adulterer. Yet, before Jacobs could throw a pebble at him, this man threw one at Jacobs. “an eye for an eye” is what Jacobs thought. “How often did Jacobs offer other people to punish him when he sinned?” is what I wondered. And what definition of “adultery” was Jacobs using?

"Cafeteria religion…It’s all about picking the right parts. You want to take a heaping serving of the parts about compassion, mercy, and gratefulness- instead of the parts about hatred and intolerance." Why, I ask? Why do you get to decide what you choose to "eat"? Why not ask the Ruler-Maker? Oh yeah, He’s not important, only the rules are. Again, lacking the main purpose of it all- a relationship!

I recognize that Jacobs did not come at this from the perspective of a believer trying to please his God. He just wanted to try it. So, for the sake of trying it out to see what it is like and how easy/ difficult it is, that’s fine. It annoys me, though (and I hope rightfully so) that people tend to view the Bible as just that: a book with rules that are both difficult and sometimes rewarding. There is so much more that gets missed. Is it their fault for not seeing the bigger picture- or is it ours (believers)? Are we presenting the Bible for what it really is? Are we presenting Christianity for what it really is? We say it all the time: “it’s a relationship, not a religion.” But do we live that? Do YOU know the Man who took your sins? Are you trying to build the relationship, not your faith? Is the Son of Man really a man to you? Do I really know Jesus?

”Perhaps I could help you a little if you were really set out to find Jesus, but you must yourself set out. It is you who must find him. Words of mine, as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, may let you know that one is near who thinks he sees him, but it is you who must search, and you who must find. If you do search, you will find, with or without help of mine.” (MacDonald, pg 510) Lamentations 3:24-26
Jeremiah 29:11-14
Zephaniah 2:3
Matthew 7:7-11