Conclusion
As I neared the end of writing this book I had
coffee with a close friend of mine.
He told me a story about a young man that he had become friends
with. This young man left the
Church because his experience of it had been of a surface faith. He saw people calling themselves
Christians, but living their lives as they pleased and caring little for those
around them. Sadly, this led to
not only his rejection of Church, but Jesus as well. He continues to be a spiritual man seeking God and
attempting to live a spiritual life, but due to his experience of Church he
wants nothing to do with Christians and thus nothing to do with Jesus. How many of us know people like
this? Too many have encountered
Christians not living out the culture of the kingdom and have as a result not
encountered Christ. This story is
why I care about the things I have written. That my friend’s friend was at the gate and walked away
because of those within breaks my heart.
It should break your heart as well.
A theology of answers neatly packaged with the
goal of convincing people of the truth of the Gospel is not a substitute for a
truly Christian style of life reflecting the love and character of God. We are called to be salt and light,
prophetic signs that require authentic prophetic action and a commitment to
love God and our neighbor. Jesus
said that he had chosen his disciples out of the world and that they were no
longer of the world. He also said
that he was sending them into the world.
He sends us into the world to bring his presence there, wherever we find
ourselves, whether it be in the world of business or street ministry the call
remains the same: be the presence of Jesus to those around you. This does not mean that we always have
the answers that will solve everyone’s problems, nor does it mean we attempt to
dictate the way the live their lives.
It is simply to show love and compassion to others, to let the light of
Christ shine before others so that they may see it. The power of a kind word to someone who is used to mockery
or to sit with someone who is used to being ignored cannot be overstated.
The love of God is profound. It is the greatest power in the
universe. It cannot be measured or
fathomed. All we can know about the love of God
is that it has no limit, no point at which it ceases. Where the extent of our love fails, his is only beginning. Were we to grasp this truth as the
Church our ability to touch the world would not be limited. If we are willing to establish that
love as our central value we will not lose sight of our true mission and
calling in the world. Our lives as
Christians are based in his love for both us and others. His love is the basis of our spiritual
culture and paradigm, a foundation we cannot afford to be disconnected
from.
We love because he first loved us, John
wrote. If we find that we do not
love others it means we have forgotten his love for us. To acknowledge Jesus as savior and king
is to accept the reality of God’s profound love for us and thus his love for
all people. This love forms the
reason for our Christian style of life and guides both our actions and our
responses to others. We seem to
require constant reminders of this simple truth: God is love and he loves
us. The lives of those who grasp
this truth and live according to it are the most powerful forces for
transformation and change in the world.
Nothing can take this treasure away from us, no earthly or spiritual
power, no tragedy or blessing, nothing in life or beyond. This truth that we are loved holds the
power to expand the kingdom of heaven across the globe for it answers the great
loss of the Fall. It is a truth
meant for all and it is the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Appendix A
Can We Change?
Throughout this book I have spoken about a
Christian style of life based on adhering to the spiritual culture of the kingdom
of heaven. This idea of a style of
life arose out of a book titled The Presence of the Kingdom (1967) written by
Jacques Ellul. In his conclusion
Ellul wrote of the need for a Christian style of life, but he refrained from
attempting to describe it, for he believed it did not at that time exist. It bothered me that he would say that
this style of life could not be described. In some ways this book came out of my reaction to what I
read. Though he did not see it in
the Church of his day does not mean that it did not exist. I have tried to show that Jesus
revealed the style of life Christians are to have, indeed that this style of
life is described for us throughout the bible. That Ellul did not see it manifested in the Church meant
that at that time what he saw were people calling themselves Christians who did
not know what it meant to follow Christ (though Ellul understood very well what
it did mean!).
We have the same situation today and we need to
change. For those who are willing
to take faith in Jesus seriously the Christian style of life is there to see
and once we have understood it we must choose whether we will live it out. This choice is nothing less than
choosing to follow Jesus.
While writing this book I have had many
conversations with friends about what I was working on. Almost every conversation ended on the
same note: Can we change? Can the
Church change? Most feel that only
a few will understand the difference between a faith in Jesus and a
relationship with God vs. a faith that is merely religious. My response has been that I do believe
change is possible, but that it won’t be easy. It won’t be easy because such changes hinge on
individuals. It requires a
decision made in one person at a time.
When they realize that if they truly believe in Jesus they need to take
seriously his teachings and his call to follow him. We need leaders in the Church today who are brave enough to
admit that the system isn’t working, that the system is not faith. We need leaders
today who know Jesus
and are willing to teach us how we too should and can know him. We need leaders today who are willing
to uphold the culture of the kingdom over the culture of the world. Their voice must be the voice calling
us to serve and worship Jesus alone. Many of us are looking for leaders who are authentic Jesus
followers, who not only love him but love us enough to share the fullness of
the message of the Gospel.
All this aside, I believe change is possible
for an even greater reason. The
Church is the Bride of Christ, she belongs to him. I have learned that despite her problems Jesus loves his
Bride very much. I believe that
God will and is taking action to correct her and renew her. He will have a people for himself that
live the way he desires, reflecting who he is and expanding his kingdom. Those who resist him, who have not
followed Jesus but set themselves up as his representatives will find
themselves humbled and disciplined. The time for serious reflection is here and
has been for awhile. Better to
return to honestly seeking after Jesus and his kingdom now than to harden our
hearts and stick to the system because it is comfortable.
I believe change is possible because I believe
Jesus can touch the hearts of his people and I believe that most Christians
today are thirsty enough for a real and authentic faith and relationship with
God that they are ready to listen to him.
Appendix B
Testimony
I grew up in the church. My family has been Christian for
generations. At the age of four I accepted
Jesus into my heart kneeling beside my bed with my mother. My parents were awesome in the truest
sense of the word. I was very
fortunate to grow up in such a love filled family. My brother was and is one of the most passionate Christians
I have ever known. I have always
had an awareness of God and have been talking to him ever since I can
remember. Even as a child I saw
into the spiritual reality that surrounds us, both demonic and angelic. Looking back over my life the evidence
of the reality of Christ has been incredible.
Yet, at the age of thirteen I began a long
struggle with depression. My
teenage years were brutal as I withdrew into myself living in a spiritual and
emotional storm that I cannot fully describe nor could express to my family
during that time. Some may
understand the desire to fall asleep hoping not to wake, this was my prayer
often as I continued to talk to God through it all. Jesus was the only ear I trusted to share my darkness
with. I caused those who loved me
much pain and worry during those years, something I would like to apologize
for.
Eventually I graduated from high school and in
my early twenties I was severely depressed and nearing the end of any energy
left to put into living. I had
given up going to church and my faith, such as it was, had diminished to that
last spark you see on a dying ember in the fire. I cannot tell you why my spirit descended into this
chaos. I have never been able to
discover a specific reason or trauma that led to my extreme depression. I was simply a young man with a ball of
pain and darkness so heavy within I no longer wanted to live.
This chaos culminated one Saturday in
mid-summer as I was house sitting for some friends. My lifelong best friend Eran was house sitting with me. He was and is a phenomenal drummer and
he had been asked to play drums at his church, the Langley Vineyard, for a
visiting worship leader named Scott Underwood. A musician myself, Eran invited me to church for the
following morning.
“You should come. This worship leader is really good,” he said.
“Yeah, maybe,” I told him, fully answering “No” within.
That night as I lay in my bed journaling I
wrote a letter to my brother. It
was a goodbye letter to him. I had
come to the very real decision that was going to take my own life. In my letter I apologized for this and
told him that I loved him. Closing
my journal I felt relief, as strange as that sounds. I prayed then, or rather, I told God,
“Well Lord, that’s it.
I’m
sorry, but I’ve tried. Unless you do
something…”
and I left it at that.
When I awoke the next morning I rolled out of
bed and glanced at my clock. I was
shocked to see that it was not noon, but only nine a.m.
“Well, that’s weird,” I thought to myself.
Eran had left for church already and I was
alone in the house. The
opportunity to carry out my resolve of the night before was now before me, but
something nagged at me. That ever
so quiet whisper we have all heard at one time or another said,
“Go to church.”
Now I’d like to say that I had a change of heart at
this point, but that would be a lie.
“Fine!
I’ll
go to church!” I replied deeply angry.
I drove out to Langley and walked into the
Langley Vineyard with a thundercloud over my head. I found a spot to stand at in the back, folded my arms
across my chest, and scowled. Hard
as a rock I stood there watching people and wanting to run out and leave.
“Stay,” the quiet whisper kept saying.
“What the ____ am I doing here?” I kept asking myself.
But I did not leave.
The music started, my friend Eran behind the
drums, and the music was good as he had promised. About halfway through the worship time I had worked up the
nerve and resolution to leave.
“One more song and I’m out of here.”
Looking back it was that decision to stay for
one more song that probably saved my life. The song began, an upbeat tune called “You are My Shepherd” written by Scott
Underwood. As the song went on I
began to have the oddest sensation, a feeling I had not had in such a long time
I could not name it: anticipation.
I was drawn into the music and time seemed to take on a different
feeling, like water was rising up around me slowing everything down. My body began to tingle all over
accompanied by a strange warmth spreading from my chest outward to my hands and
feet. I closed my eyes having no
idea what might be happening to me.
Then all sound faded away and my ears seemed to tune themselves to only
the worship leader’s voice as he sang these words:
“And you know who I am.
And you made who I am.
And you love who I am.”
All I could see behind my closed eyes was white
light as these words assaulted my inner walls demolishing years of pain, self
hatred, and darkness. For the
first time in many years I began to cry, not dignified crying either. I wept uncontrollably, sobbing and
struggling to breathe. In that
single moment it was as though Jesus had stepped down from heaven, walked
across the room, and come to stand in front of me. When I think back to this experience I can see him standing
there looking directly into my eyes and saying,
“I know who you are. I made you, and Eric I love you.”
This began my relationship with the living
Jesus and it completely changed my life.
It began the journey I am still on today of walking with him and getting
to know him more and more. I wasn’t healed of my
depression and still battle with it at times up to the present day. But I face this struggle, and all
others, with Jesus, and in the context of our relationship I am able to
overcome them.
There is of course more to my story since that
Sunday morning, but this is not meant to be an
autobiography. I tell this story to answer the
question that some readers may have: where is this guy coming from? That moment that Jesus so graciously
and mercifully stepped into my life has formed my paradigm in many ways. I am one who knows he is alive. I have been a Christian all my life,
but I became a disciple and follower of Jesus on that day. It is why I believe so passionately in
the revelation of the reality of Jesus over any religious system or
intellectual argument for the truth of the Gospel. He is alive, is the message that I have to give. It is always my prayer that others
might somehow through me encounter Jesus as I have and come to faith in him
because they actually meet him.
The message of Easter has always been the incredible truth of Christ’s resurrection, a
message that we have to share every day of the year. He is risen, he lives, and he was telling the truth when he
said that he was the way and the truth and the life.
Thanks jan...and thanks for taking the time to read too, I appreciate that.
cheers,
ehj
Posted by: Eric H Janzen | April 29, 2010 at 03:25 PM
Eric,
thank you so much for your honesty!
it is amazing how much power is therein!
blessings!
Posted by: jan | April 29, 2010 at 10:59 AM