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Yesterday I promised an epistle on abortion. That can wait, actually; it occurred to me that some might ask, "Who is this Chad guy, and what kind of megalomaniac is he to think that anything he says is of interest to anybody?" So, a little more background:
I was raised in an evangelical Protestant church. Though I went to Sunday School, learned Bible verses, etc., I date my actual "conversion" or spiritual rebirth in Christ to when I was 15. That's when it started to be real to me. I went to a divinity school after high school, but didn't really fit in and was asked to leave after my first year. In retrospect that looks like a blessing, though it was a big disappointment at the time.
I married at age 20, and my wife and I had two beautiful sons. The marriage had problems, however, and I, being immature and naive, didn't handle them well. In 1981 we separated, eventually to divorce. In the wake of that divorce I got some pretty rough handling from some Christian brethren which precipitated a "crisis of faith" in me; I wondered how followers of Christ could behave that way, and if they could, was Christianity really valid?
For the next 12 or 14 years I “went prodigal”, staying away from church and pretty much anything to do with Christ. The fruits of that dark time of doubt were two more failed marriages, drug and alcohol abuse – the same old sad story. Eventually I understood that there would be no adequate substitute for the “God-shaped hole” within me, and re-surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, this time for good.
Though I turned again to Christ in 1993, it was four more years before I ventured back to church, fearing more of the same kind of abuse that had driven me away to begin with. Gradually though, I realized that I couldn’t expect anybody in church to be any holier than I, and I knew how holy I wasn’t. I went back to church expecting occasional friction or conflict, and haven’t been disappointed!
Which brings me to my point: If there were no difference between Christ and us, we wouldn’t need Christ! “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” [Ephesians 2:7-9]. This is how God does things, in a way that we humans would least expect. Most of the world’s other “major religions” stress good works as the path to salvation. God has “leveled the playing field” by requiring that we all come to Him the same way, by the Blood of Christ.
As far as this blog is concerned, God gives us gifts and mine is apparently one of gab. Down through the years I’ve often felt led/inspired/impressed to share with others what I’ve learned from Scripture. This is a perfect way to do it, while sparing the reader the sometimes troubling aspects of my personal history! I pray that it blesses you.
You’ll notice that I don’t offer the opportunity to respond on the blog. We’re all aware of what kinds of unpleasant content the World Wide Web can facilitate! and I’d like this place to be a haven from that kind of stuff. I do welcome your comments at cftIII@gmail.com. Until next time.
God bless,
- Chad
I was raised in an evangelical Protestant church. Though I went to Sunday School, learned Bible verses, etc., I date my actual "conversion" or spiritual rebirth in Christ to when I was 15. That's when it started to be real to me. I went to a divinity school after high school, but didn't really fit in and was asked to leave after my first year. In retrospect that looks like a blessing, though it was a big disappointment at the time.
I married at age 20, and my wife and I had two beautiful sons. The marriage had problems, however, and I, being immature and naive, didn't handle them well. In 1981 we separated, eventually to divorce. In the wake of that divorce I got some pretty rough handling from some Christian brethren which precipitated a "crisis of faith" in me; I wondered how followers of Christ could behave that way, and if they could, was Christianity really valid?
For the next 12 or 14 years I “went prodigal”, staying away from church and pretty much anything to do with Christ. The fruits of that dark time of doubt were two more failed marriages, drug and alcohol abuse – the same old sad story. Eventually I understood that there would be no adequate substitute for the “God-shaped hole” within me, and re-surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, this time for good.
Though I turned again to Christ in 1993, it was four more years before I ventured back to church, fearing more of the same kind of abuse that had driven me away to begin with. Gradually though, I realized that I couldn’t expect anybody in church to be any holier than I, and I knew how holy I wasn’t. I went back to church expecting occasional friction or conflict, and haven’t been disappointed!
Which brings me to my point: If there were no difference between Christ and us, we wouldn’t need Christ! “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” [Ephesians 2:7-9]. This is how God does things, in a way that we humans would least expect. Most of the world’s other “major religions” stress good works as the path to salvation. God has “leveled the playing field” by requiring that we all come to Him the same way, by the Blood of Christ.
As far as this blog is concerned, God gives us gifts and mine is apparently one of gab. Down through the years I’ve often felt led/inspired/impressed to share with others what I’ve learned from Scripture. This is a perfect way to do it, while sparing the reader the sometimes troubling aspects of my personal history! I pray that it blesses you.
You’ll notice that I don’t offer the opportunity to respond on the blog. We’re all aware of what kinds of unpleasant content the World Wide Web can facilitate! and I’d like this place to be a haven from that kind of stuff. I do welcome your comments at cftIII@gmail.com. Until next time.
God bless,
- Chad
posted by cft3 | 6:27 AM
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