It's a simple question. (Part 2)

I heard some ministers doing a segment on K-Love a few days ago about "God's will." Particularly, they were offering response to the question of some callers "How can I know God's will for me?" There were a few stutters and miscues as they fired up their engine, like "Well, you see, Scripture wants us to know... what I mean is, we are all made by God... If you'll look at Jesus' life..." Soon after, they were on track, and headed in a little more coherent direction, though it still included quite a few commas and run-on sentences as they tried to exhaustively cover every disclaimer they thought was necessary for all the foreseeable loopholes in what is a very broad theological subject.

I have no ill will towards these two guys or the station, because I think they are seeking Jesus to the best of their understanding and helping others along the Way. But I had to giggle a bit as they groped for an answer mostly because I had the privilege during Bible college to hear a very wise professor lecture on this subject, and what the radio guys outlined in three minutes, my professor summed up in eight words.

God's will is the redemption of all people.

Sometimes questions initially seem quite simple. Then we discover that they are far deeper than we had anticipated. But if we will be honest enough with ourself, our beliefs, and with the question itself, we will often return to the truth that the answer will be, like the question, quite simple even despite its depth.

So what would you say being a Christian is all about?

When the question was raised, my initial reaction was to think "oh yeah, I should definitely know the answer to this." Then I thought for a minute and came to the conclusion, "wow, I don't really know the answer to this." At least, I didn't immediately. And that feeling of disablement is somewhere between insulting and humiliating. After all, I've spent my life being a Christian, so why couldn't I answer this off the top of my head? I resolved to find a real answer.

Not unlike our radio friends, my initial thoughts were riddled with addendum's, and would have rendered listeners far more confused than they had been had they initialized the question themselves. Then it occurred to me that the answer was rather obvious and plain, just like God's will. 

Usually, our difficulties with answering these questions are self-inflicted because we are either asking or understanding the question wrongly–usually egocentrically. For instance, you will never sufficiently answer God's will for you until you recognize that his will, much like the Bible, isn't for you. And, if that's the question you're trying to answer on a radio show, your listeners are going to be in for a long drive. Only once you accept God's corporate interest in our world, can you neatly find the answers for yourself as you fit yourself into the answer, redeeming all people, instead of trying to fit the answer to your own circumstance. Similarly, a corporate perspective on Christianity will lead you to a definitive ending to a seemingly impossible question. Want to know what being a Christian is all about?

Being a Christian is about sacrificing yourself to God.

Plain and simple.

In the interest of keeping this at a readable length, I will expand the theology of sacrifice in my next post.