Two Ways to Live

My church has been doing a sermon series through the book of James on some of the practicalities of being a Christians. I got to preach on the first section of chapter 4. There James is confronting his readers about how much they've been influenced by the thinking and the desires of the world around them. Unfortunately, that same indictment can be made of the church today. But friendship with the world makes us enemies of God. Fortunately, James gives us some practical tips to stop being influenced by the world and start being friends with God. You can listen to the message here if you like.

Hearing God

Life gets loud sometimes. Duties and distractions come calling. In all the noise and speed of life, it's a wonder we hear anything anymore. It seems like an antiquated novelty to stop and listen. I once led a spiritual formation retreat and to practice we spent 15 minutes by ourselves in silence. One exuberant young lady said it was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do!

For me it's very easy to, as my friend put it, "do things for God, without spending time with God." So during my home assignment I set aside 3 days to get away from everything, in a cabin out in the woods, with no agenda but spending time with God and listening to Him. We plan for our fitness and our nutrition and our lifetime learning. Why don't we spend as much time and effort developing and caring for our souls?

I had booked my retreat at a camp/conference center that has a private cabin out in the woods for just that purpose. I arrived excited for a bit of silence and solitude, only to find out they had double booked that cabin and instead had put me in a different cabin...right in the middle of the camp. During that week, they were also hosting a high school retreat with 100 noisy teenagers (some of whom were quite fond of hanging out on the porch of my cabin) and a women's conference. So much for silence and solitude. But despite the disappointment and distractions, I determined that one can meet with God anywhere, so I would try to make the most of it.

To help guide my thoughts on this retreat, I was reading the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. He attempts to lead the reader toward what he calls a "conversational relationship with God." He wants us to understand that yes, God does still speak to us today. And he helps clarify how one can discern the "still small voice" of God in our own thoughts. It was a timely read with many helpful insights. One point was particularly potent, he emphasized how in seeking God's specific will for a particular situation, we often fail to be practicing God's general will for our lives. One example he used was to "be thankful in all circumstances" (1 Thess 5:18), which quickly reminded me of Phil 2:14, "Do all things without complaining or arguing." This hardly described my attitude about being stuck in the cabin in the middle of camp. So, as He often does, God used a situation I didn't like to remind me how far I have to go in Christlikeness and nudge me gently in that direction.

Overall it turned out to be a nice few days and a great reminder that I need to slow down and listen more often. Time spent in stillness and silence isn't a waste. It's soul care.

A still, quiet morning by the lake

A short hike to a big view

Bible reading plan

For many, January 1st brings thoughts of resolutions and making life adjustments. We reflect on the past year and see all the areas where our life hasn't met our expectations or desires, then we set about in our own strength to make ourselves more like we want to be. Some of those things may be related to our spiritual lives, like wanting to pray more, memorize Scripture, or reading through the Bible in a year.

Oftentimes my Bible reading can feel a bit routine, maybe because I've read that passage many times before or I don't know how it applies to my life. Or sometimes I approach my Bible reading with many other things on my mind. So one idea that has been helpful for me is reading a devotional along with my Bible. That reading helps get my mind focused on spiritual things and helps me know how it might apply to my life.

If reading a devotional could be something that's helpful for you I would recommend trying D.A. Carson's For The Love of God. His plan offers up to 4 Bible chapters to read each day, and a short one-page devotional related to one of those chapters. You can find both volumes free online at the following links:

     

What is Forgiveness?

Imagine that you are a judge, seated high up on your platform, gavel in your hand, ruling over your courtroom. You hold the power of decision, determining whether a person is guilty or innocent and what punishment they deserve according to the severity of their crime.

Slowly the door cracks open and in walks the first defendant. You look up to find someone who has horribly wronged you. Then behind them a whole line of people come streaming in, each one having injured, offended, or defrauded you. And one by one you get to decide what kind of punishment each person deserves. Now’s your chance to get them back for what they did to you! They’ve hurt you and now it’s your job to make sure they get what they deserve.

In this scenario, would you be a fair judge? Probably not. As the memory of pain and anger rises to the surface, you’d probably deal out quite a harsh punishment.

That’s revenge. Revenge means getting someone back for what they’ve done to you.

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Now imagine that you’re the one on trial. You slowly crack open the door and walk down the aisle toward the defendant’s chair. Looking up, the person sitting in the judge’s seat is someone you have wronged. Would you want them as your judge? Don’t you think they would be as unfair to you as you would have been to the people who wronged you? Wouldn’t you say, “Wait, I want a different judge! This person won’t give me justice. They’ll punish me worse than I deserve!” Wouldn’t you try to appeal to someone who is impartial, unbiased and fair?

The truth is the only person who can be an impartial, unbiased and completely fair judge, the only one who knows all our motivations and everybody’s back story, is God. He knows the truth, and He will judge justly.

Forgiveness, then, is giving up your “right” to revenge, releasing all your hurt and all your pain into the hands of the only just Judge, and allowing Him to do what is best.

That’s forgiveness.

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But let’s not stop there. You may still be counting on God to deal out the proper punishment you feel this person deserves. Only then will justice be done.

But would you be ok with God taking all that punishment, all that hurt and vengeful payback they deserve, and pouring it out entirely upon Christ on the cross?

If you can say yes to that question, then you truly understand forgiveness.

Personal Retreat

The words silence and solitude seem so quaint and antique in today's fast-paced, activity-driven, tech-saturated world. But for a small segment of spiritual seekers, silence and solitude have long been a centering discipline to quiet our own inner monologue and make ourselves available to hear from God. This past week, I set aside three days to do just that.

The Wixson Ministry Cabin at Camp Sentinel

I had heard about the Wixson Ministry Cabin at Camp Sentinel, a place for full-time Christian workers to get away for rest and refreshment, so I booked it out for 3 nights. I arrived Tuesday afternoon to find that I would be the only one there that week. No campers, no church groups, just me and the small camp staff on 600 acres of beautiful New Hampshire forest.

It's a small two-bedroom log cabin with a large kitchen-dining-living space. Out back is a lovely porch, lawn and fire pit with a view out over Dan Hole Pond (which is really more the size of a small lake). The trail down to the lake opens up to a beach which would have been great for a swim were it not late November. But it did make a lovely place to tie up my hammock and lounge for a while looking out over the lake with the mountains in the background.

The dining/living room area at the cabin

I left my computer at home and put my phone on airplane mode. I didn't even ask for the wifi password. There would be no contact with the outside world. I brought only my Bible and one book as my "guide" for the week. It was the book The Gift of Being Yourself by Dr. David Benner, recommended by one of my pastor friends. It's a short book, only 100 pages or so, perfect for a 3 day retreat. If it were any longer, I would've found myself spending more time reading and less time digesting, evaluating, and applying. His goal was to help the reader know himself better, and therefore know God better. It's a very helpful little book and I definitely recommend it.

Having no agenda or plan or activities to do, I found the hours crept by. I'm so used to being active, that it felt a little weird just sitting there. But just sitting on the couch, trying to quiet my mind, intentionally trying to recognize the presence of God already with me was incredibly helpful. You don't have to go away on a retreat to experience the presence of God. He's with you all the time. He's everywhere. And, as a Christian, He lives inside you. But sometimes we need to get away on a retreat to quiet ourselves enough to recognize that Presence that has been there all along.

Sun rising on the mountains across Dan Hole Pond at Camp Sentinel (click to enlarge)

Spiritual Formation

Drawing a picture of what
spiritual maturity looks like

Christianity in Namibia has often been called "a mile wide and an inch deep." That's why, when asked to facilitate the Campus Crusade for Christ staff retreat, I chose the topic of developing the inner spiritual life. They sounded about as excited to hear about the topic as I was to share it! Not only that, but they always say the teacher learns more than the student. I must say I have greatly benefited from my reading and study in preparation for facilitating this topic.

In our first session together we looked at our goal for spirituality. What does spiritual maturity look like? We often get the idea that it's external things, like how well we dress for church or how much money we give. But spiritual maturity cannot be defined by external criteria. So we looked at inner spiritual maturity through three different lenses:
1) Spiritual maturity is becoming the kind of person who lives out a spiritual life.
2) Spiritual maturity is learning to want what God wants.
3) Spiritual maturity is thinking God's thoughts after Him.

We spent our second session diagnosing our spiritual lives with questions that reached to our inner lives and not just the surface stuff. So we didn't ask things like, "Do you read the Bible?" But rather we asked, "Do you love the Bible and allow it to have authority over your life?" These kinds of questions reach to our inner spiritual lives.

Then we looked at some hindrances to spiritual formation, or ways that we sabotage our own spiritual development. We discussed how things like Christian education, spiritual busyness, unconfessed sin, and self-deception can all hinder us from growing toward spiritual maturity.

Communion service at sunset on the dunes

Then lastly we looked at how developing the inner spiritual life takes self-discipline. We have to become masters of our sinful flesh instead of allowing it to master us. Throughout the history of the Church people have used practices called spiritual disciplines to help develop their inner spiritual lives. The disciplines aren't anything magic in themselves, but they help put us in a position to receive God's transforming grace. God is the one who does the work, but it takes discipline to allow Him the time and space to shape our inner lives.

This is easily one of my favorite topics to talk about, especially here where religion largely stops at the external. I think this is an aspect of discipleship that has generally been left in the Middle Ages. We mostly focus on the external, not the internal. But when we recognize that our external lives are simply an overflow of our inner lives, it places a greater value on developing the inner spiritual life. As we shape our inner spiritual lives by pressing deeply into the depths of God, only then can we live out of those depths in our external lives.

Learning football on the beach

But besides our main sessions, we also had a lot of fun! On the first night I taught them a new card game, Up and Down the River, and they were so hooked that we played it every night! Also, using a mini-rugby ball, I taught them American football on the beach. It took a few times of explaining the rules, but they picked it up pretty quickly. Overall it was a really nice time and great getting to know the team that ministers to our nation's university students.

They must've seen "the huddle" in a football movie somewhere.

Sunset from the dunes

Guys pic!

CCC Namibia staff (minus 2)

Nigeria, Part 2

(If you missed it, click here to start with part 1.)

I had arrived in country a few days early so I could visit a few other ministries, one of those being the seminary in Jos. They had recently begun a youth ministry major so I was interested in how they put the program together and how it was working out. So I met with Cephas Bahago, a local youth pastor who is also the head of the youth ministry program. He told me about how their denomination had just begun realizing the importance of youth ministry in a nation with over 50% youth and children. He is pioneering as one of the first full-time youth pastors in the denomination. They have their challenges, especially considering they are changing the thinking and denominational practices set in place for over 100 years, but they are certainly taking steps in a good direction.

Later I was invited to an evening youth program. Fortunately I got a little heads up that I would be the one sharing! There were about 65-70ish young people and after a few songs we spent some time talking about spiritual formation. They got into groups to discuss what is spiritual maturity. Then altogether we considered a biblical goal for spiritual maturity and how we often look at only external things, but instead we need to work on our internal spiritual lives so that we are becoming the kind of people who live naturally out a spiritual life on the outside. Everyone was pretty engaged and seemed to enjoy it. Then afterward we tried to fit everyone into a big group pic!

Another ministry I visited was called City Ministries who works with street kids, orphans, and women among others. I visited their private school with 100 or so kids. It was the last day of school so each class shared a special Christmas song or memory verse, then they all got special treats and a soda. Here’s some clips of their songs for you to enjoy.

Then lastly I visited a Muslim-Christian reconciliation ministry called "Building Relationships in City Center" (BRiCC). They say they’re not just reconciling, because building relationships is a step beyond just reconciliation. They have different programs designed to bring Christian and Muslim children and youth together to help build relationships and alleviate fear and suspicion. While I was there they were hosting a soccer clinic during the holiday break. They mixed up the Muslim and Christian kids and put them on teams of 10 to do different skill stations and then play some games.

The green team at the soccer clinic

One of the team building activities at the clinic

After splitting up for skill stations, the teams got to play games.

Click here to continue with part 3.

Spiritual Formation

What does spiritual maturity look like? What are some markers or gauges of how you would identify spiritual maturity? How would you diagnose your own spiritual condition? What strategies do you have in place to grow in spiritual maturity? These are just a few of the questions we addressed this past weekend at our youth seminar on Spiritual Formation.

I had the opportunity to speak for a few hours on Friday night and again on Saturday morning to a group of about 20-25 teens and young adults from two different branches of the Uniting Reformed Church in Windhoek. They were a very interactive group and based on their feedback they seemed to really enjoy the material.

One of my biggest concerns in youth ministry is the focus on external religion. Many churches have youth programs simply because they want their youth to look, speak, and act a certain way. As long as they follow the rules, don't get in to trouble, and don't embarrass anyone, then they are generally left alone, maybe even ignored. But the problem is that a bunch of rules don't make a relationship with God. Spirituality isn't about the external life. You can have great looking external religion and still have no inner spirituality. Those are fakers or what Jesus called hypocrites. He railed on the Pharisees for exactly that, being externally religious but having no inner spirituality. And most of youth ministry is about exactly that, it's busy addressing external symptoms rather than treating the heart disease.

The key to youth ministry isn't trying to shape externally religious people, but internally spiritual people. Because inner spirituality can't be separated from external religion. It's an internal reality that will inevitably manifest itself in the external life. As we shape and form our inner spiritual lives, it shows up in how we look and speak and act.

So our goal this past weekend was to understand how spiritual formation works, and by understanding it, to hopefully develop a strategy for our own spiritual formation. We started by looking at what spiritual maturity looks like. Most people have a conception of spiritual maturity as external religion, but we emphasized the inner spiritual life. Then we went through 10 questions for personal spiritual diagnosis. Then, after understanding our goal and understanding where we're starting from, we looked at strategies of how to "get there from here," things like addressing sin, changing our desires, intentional community, and spiritual disciplines.

Groups studying a Bible passage	Groups drew and labeled a picture of a spiritually mature person

At the end of the seminar some of the leaders told me that many of their youth were not available to come this weekend and invited me to come back another time to teach those others also. I handed them my course notes and said, "Now you know the material so you can teach it to those others." That's what multiplication is all about, training those who will train other also. Don't be impressed, that strategy is not original to me. The apostle Paul did it first (2 Tim. 2:2) and Jesus before him. That's what it takes to turn the world upside-down.

Youth Week

This past week has been Youth Week at the Uniting Reformed Church in Khomasdal. They invited churches from all over the area to bring their youth groups and participate in the sessions each night of the week. Monday was kickoff night and I had been asked to speak on how much we value God. There were about 70-80 youth there, not bad for the opening night. We started off with a time of worship from a visiting worship team, a dance, and a drama. Then I spoke from Philippians 3:1-14 where Paul explains the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. He calls everything else "rubbish" for the sake of knowing Christ. I challenged the youth to value Christ above all other things in their lives.

They continued on all week with different speakers and I heard things were going well. I had also been asked to speak on Friday night for the last of their teaching sessions. By the end of the week, the group had doubled in size to over 150 people. The theme for the night was the Body of Christ, so I spoke from 1 Corinthians 12 about how the Church consists of many parts, but it's all one Body. We talked about 4 viruses we can catch that will destroy unity in the Body of Christ (inadequacy, irrelevance, envy, and pride). Then I challenged the youth to get involved in God's mission with whatever gifts He had given them. Overall, I thought the two nights I attended were very well planned and the youth were very attentive. I trust that God will use His Word in their lives for the purposes He has planned. As someone has said, "We're the sowers; He's the grower."

Knowing God

“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each truth that we learn about God into a matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.” (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, p.23)

I could do some research and tell you all kinds of information about President Abraham Lincoln, where he was from, how he rose to power, when he was married, inaugurated, and died. I could quote for you from some of his speeches and legislation. I could tell you a lot about him, but that doesn't mean that I actually know him. There's a big difference between head knowledge and experiential knowledge. The same is true regarding knowing God.

One of the great risks of theological education is that we fill our heads with knowledge about God, but we never actually come to know God Himself. This idea has come to the forefront as I prepare to teach a course this semester on the theology of God. We could read lots of theology books and study the details of God's attributes and perfections, His character and His work, and never actually have a true encounter with the living God. We could read our Bibles all day, but if it remains only a piece of historic literature then we will never experience God through it.

The study of God is simply the means through which we encounter Him. Our aim and ultimate purpose is not the knowledge in itself, for "knowledge puffs up" (1 Cor 8:1), but our goal is the God whom that knowledge is about. This is, as Packer notes above, where disciplines like meditation, prayer, and praise come in. So the question is, am I seeking knowledge about God for its own sake, or am I seeking to dive deep into the infinite depths of the God whom I'm studying, to let wave after wave of His greatness crash over me and overwhelm me, and to love Him deeper for the knowing?

"A Spectacle to the World"

One of the most popular false teachings here in Africa is that God’s primary goal is to give you material blessings and a comfortable, easy life. Pastor’s often become the spectacle of this philosophy. They convince their poor congregations to give every last cent as “seed” money, while they are living the high life as a demonstration of their godliness and faith evidenced by their material blessing.

Lately I’ve been reading through 1 Corinthians in preparation for my class on the theology of the Church. In chapter 4:8ff, I couldn’t help but resonate with Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthian church in light of my current context.

“Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us [apostles] you have become kings!"
They were boasting of their spiritual maturity. They were arrogant about what they considered wisdom. They were puffed up and proud, as if they had earned for themselves anything they were given.

“And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you!”
Paul takes a sarcastic stab turning on his use of the word ‘kings.’ For one day we all will be ‘kings and queens’ reigning with Christ. So if they had actually been ruling as kings, then it would mean Christ had returned and Paul and the apostles would also be reigning with them.

“For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.”
But true leaders shouldn’t put themselves first, but last. Paul, the apostles, his missionary partners, they have been put on display as an example of what leadership should look like.

“We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.”
The example of the apostles is exactly the opposite of what the world would hold up as exemplary, and what the Corinthians exhibited. It’s not arrogant and boastful, trying to prop oneself up. Rather it’s humility, recognizing weakness, through which God gets all the glory.

“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands.”
They certainly weren’t in the business to get rich and fat, have big houses and fancy clothes. But none of these hardships where cause for them to give up, cash it in and choose another profession. These are simply the accepted occupational hazards. It comes with the job.

“When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat."
And resistance doesn’t mean that you don’t have enough faith or that God is punishing you. It usually means you’re doing something right! We should expect slander, persecution, cursing, hatred. The world and the devil don't like our message so they’re gonna put up a fight. Jesus said if the world hated Him then it’ll hate His followers too. But neither is this reason to give up. Rather it should encourage us to continue, to press on even more so.

"We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”
Wow, what does this say of our own culture of celebrity pastors and Christian pop icons?

Christianity is not about propping ourselves up. It’s not about seeming wise or getting rich, famous, and powerful--even if it's in the name of Jesus. The apostles have set for us an example of humble servanthood, following Christ with abandon above all else, making His name famous. But how busy do we often get decorating our reputations, coddling our comfortable lifestyles, or lining our retirement accounts? Thanks for the reality check, Paul.

Prime Time

I've never had someone ask for my speaking notes before, but after my talk on coveting and contentment one Polytech student did just that. I had mentioned how everything that I had said was really only an introduction to the topic, so she was interested in the rest of it. She wanted more than just the introduction, she wanted the meat. It's so encouraging to see that hunger, that desire to know how to live a life after God.

Campus Crusade for Christ holds weekly events called 'Prime Time' on both UNAM (University of Namibia) and Polytech (Polytechnic Institute of Namibia) campuses. This semester they've been studying through the 10 Commandments. The events are entirely student-led, but they invite different guest speakers to come give the teachings. My topic was the Tenth Commandment, "Do not covet." We talked about coveting as wanting something other than what God wants for you. God is the Giver of all good gifts, but sometimes we look at the gifts He's given us and say, "That's not what I wanted." Instead we see the gifts He's given someone else and think, 'Why can't I get those gifts?' That's coveting. The cure for coveting is contentment. Contentment is not about getting what you want, but it's about learning to want what God wants for you.

I'm not good at guesstimating attendance, but I'd say there were 30-50 people at each Prime Time event. Each of these students are converging on campus from their different towns, villages, or countries. In campus ministries they hear the gospel and learn how to follow Christ. Then they take that message back to wherever they came from, or on to whatever position of influence they will attain. Their university education will make them the future leaders of African countries, whether business people, teachers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, whatever. Do you see how that makes campus ministry such a strategic opportunity for spreading the gospel?

Why I Am (Still) a Christian

I first became a Christian when I was 5 years old. I vaguely remember one of my parents sitting at my bedside telling me about Jesus, and I decided heaven sounds like a way better option than hell, so I chose Jesus. Growing up in the church, I got born-again again any time a preacher talked about hell, just to make sure I meant it for real this time. I also learned to navigate Christian legalism by doing the right things and avoiding the wrong things. I went to Sunday School and youth group and didn’t smoke or drink, and I was applauded for being a “good little Christian.” But as my sinful nature grew to maturity, fear of eternal damnation, family tradition, or some legalistic moral code weren’t gonna cut it as motivations to cling to Christianity. I needed something greater.

Jesus liked to tell stories, which is good because I like stories. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man who unearthed a treasure in the middle of a field. He quickly reburied it, and joyfully sold all he had to purchase that field. Again, he told of a jewel merchant who found a pearl so valuable that he too sold everything he had in order to buy it. Jesus’ stories challenged my paradigm of Christianity as a religion of Law and duty and eternal destiny. He described something so great and valuable that one would joyfully forsake all else to obtain it. Either Jesus didn’t understand Christianity very well, or I didn’t.

Another thing Jesus said was, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). My understanding of eternal life had to do with sitting around heaven forever and ever. Honestly, it sounded kinda boring to me. But this abundant life seems different than eternal life. Eternal life seems to imply quantity, starting now and continuing forever. But ‘abundant’ is a qualitative word. It describes the quality of that life. Not only will it last forever, but it will be full, fruitful, desirous, satisfying! That kind of life sounds great! I would gladly forsake all else to obtain that abundant life! But it certainly wasn’t to be found in my Christianity of religious duty. It was time for me to put my childish Christianity behind me and relentlessly seek this life Jesus had to offer.

The missing piece came in this truth, that God Himself is that infinitely valuable treasure. He alone is ultimately satisfying. In Him “there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11). We are commanded to “delight [ourselves] in the Lord” (Ps 37:4). Our greatest happiness/enjoyment/satisfaction is found in God alone because He is infinitely and supremely valuable! And when we find our ultimate satisfaction in God we demonstrate to the world that He is indeed supremely valuable. That’s what worship is, attributing worth to something. So being satisfied in God is worshipping God! By finding our greatest joy in Him, we are giving Him glory! Pastor and author John Piper says it this way, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” (Desiring God, 50)

Conversely, sin is finding our satisfaction in anything other than God. Certainly God has given us all things for our enjoyment (1 Tim 6:17). But those are only secondary pleasures, which find their ultimate source and fulfillment in God. When we seek our ultimate satisfaction and joy in lesser things, we are attributing more worth to them than we are to God. We are worshipping them, and thus committing idolatry. So all sin is ultimately a form of idolatry.

In a stirring passage, C.S. Lewis wrote:

“If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” (The Weight of Glory, 2)

I was always told that Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship. Religion seems to emphasize duty, whereas relationship emphasizes love. A man does not compliment or give gifts to his wife out of mere duty, but out of love. Love will always be a stronger motivation than duty. Christianity is not about doing the right thing rather than the wrong thing, or believing the right doctrine rather than the wrong doctrine.* It’s about loving supreme value rather than insignificance. Satan and sin can only offer us what Piper calls “two-bit, low-yield, short-term, never-satisfying, person-destroying, God-belittling pleasures of the world” (Desiring God, 20). Only God can give us ultimate satisfaction, because He alone is ultimately valuable.

I am still a Christian because I came to understand what true Christianity is all about. It’s more than a set of rules telling me what I can and can’t do. It’s more than some kind of fire insurance for the afterlife. It’s more than rousing some temporary spiritual emotion. It’s about finding my satisfaction in the One of greatest value, namely God Himself. He is the Treasure I can joyfully forsake everything else to obtain. So I can say with Peter and the apostles, “Lord, to whom else shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life” (John 6:69).

* Naturally, as we love God and find our satisfaction in Him, we will delight in holiness rather than sinful behaviors and thought patterns, and we will delight in true doctrine over false teaching. Thus behavior and doctrine are an essential part of Christianity, but perhaps not as central as some Christian groups have made them each to be. Are not the Greatest Commandments to love God and love others (Matt 22:37-40)? It’s about love, not duty. Yet, if one loves, he necessarily fulfills his duty out of love.