Christianity can sometimes seem like a complex riddle at best– and a complete and total mess at worst!
With a myriad of different denominations and complex theologies, how are we supposed to make sense of Christianity as any kind of unified anything, much less a coherent religion?
Isn’t it really just a bunch of diverse clubs offering a different experience (or lack thereof) of God?
Traversing this landscape of faith can feel fraught with landmines, rough terrain, incomplete directions, and inadequate roadmaps. Not to mention various crooks and robbers along the way, and the seemingly superior and self-righteous waiting to pounce.
So what are we to do?
Isn’t it better to go our own way– to live in the woods and pray by ourselves, so we don’t have to deal with the whole rotten mess? Are we just doomed to be lost and confused as Christians, hurt and oblivious to God’s plan for us?
Not at all. Christianity, or the process of following Jesus Christ, is meant to be understood. And, what’s more, it’s meant to be understood by every one of us.
That means you (if you want to), and that means me too. And what’s more, we’re meant to learn and grow about it, in it, and through it together.
Here are some ways to start your journey to understanding the incredible gift that is our Christian faith.
Understanding is for Anyone Who Wants it
Which means anyone who wants it- can get it.
Absolutely anyone and everyone who wants to learn more about God… can and will. God Himself will give it to us. It’s one of the promises that God gives us.
Jesus Himself says in the Gospel According to Matthew:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt. 7:7-8
Wait a minute, I hear you asking, how can this be?
If I want to learn about any other subject, I do my research. I google it, I go to the library, I take a class. Are you telling me if I want to learn about God, I don’t have to do anything? That He will just give understanding willy-nilly, to any old person?
And the answer to that is yes… and no.
When it comes to knowledge about Himself, God will give it to anyone who wants it. And not just to any old someone. He wants to give it to you– whom He created and whom He loves.
Whom He knows, intimately, inside and out.
It doesn’t matter what denomination you belong to, how intelligent you are, or how “bad” you believe yourself to be. Anyone who wants to know about God, can.
All that’s required is a desire to know Him.
Wait just a minute (I hear you asking again). Anyone can pick up a Bible and read it- all by themselves. Won’t they know about God then, without any help from God?
No, not really.
They may know the “facts” about God, but they won’t know Him.
It’s one thing to know that God came to earth, died on the cross, was resurrected, and came back to life, thereby making a new kingdom on earth for all eternity- it’s a whole other thing to truly know the God from that story. It’s not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.
Knowing and knowing are two very different things.
But if you do want to know God, all you have to do is ask Him. He has promised this to the world. And God is always faithful in delivering on His promises. He wants to give this knowledge to us!
Wanting to Know about God is More Than a Feeling
So how do we know then, if we truly want to know more about God? Or if it’s more of a… I know I really should get up and clean out my closet, but I’m all tucked in and cozy watching Netflix so I probably won’t, kind of situation?
We all believe that we want to do all kinds of things, with different levels of sincerity.
We may say that yes, I want to go skydiving, or I want to take an Alaskan cruise, or I want to start jogging. We may mean those things at the time that we say them, but those intentions can also pass away like a fleeting breath or a puff of wind.
There is a big difference between those things that we imagine we want to do, compared to the things that are actually willing to do. And we can easily tell the difference, not by weighing our feelings about them, but by simply observing ourselves.
Imagine you’re looking at yourself from the outside, as a detective. How would be able to determine what is important to the subject you’re observing?
Simple. You would watch what you do where you spend your time, and with whom.
The things that we care about are the activities, relationships, and occupations that we put real time, effort, and energy into, versus the desires that live mostly in our imagination.
If we want to know God, we offer up time, energy, effort, and intention to learn.
Ask, search, knock. God doesn’t force learning on us against our will, He leaves it to us to give Him the go-ahead. Therefore, our will has to be willing to learn.
How do we do that, you wonder? I’m glad that you asked!
God Needs a Permanent Place on Our Calendars
When we plan our days, whether we use an actual calendar or not, we fill them first with the most important things. Things that we positively cannot neglect to do.
These are the immovable things, the necessary things. Things that we can’t skip or neglect without serious consequences. Typically, these are things like jobs, family obligations, and meals. Everyone has to eat!
If we care about God, He needs to become one of these immovable things on our calendar: something that we absolutely cannot miss, skip, or neglect, every day.
It is analogous to eating. If we are spiritual people, we need spiritual food throughout each day, to feed us and help us grow.
How do We do that? We Begin with Prayer
Prayer is a conversation with God.
God has been speaking to us our whole lives- we just may not have been able to hear Him. Prayer is how we answer back to God.
To begin, any kind of prayer is sufficient.
It is an opening of our hearts and minds to our Creator. We can speak to God about what’s on our minds at the moment, we can offer Him our questions and concerns, and we can ask Him for the things that we want for ourselves and others.
In most denominations, there are also wonderful prayers that our brothers and sisters in Christ have used before us- whether it’s from the Roman Missal, the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, the Anglican Prayer Book, or some other publication- these prayers are great ways to help us expand our thoughts beyond our own concerns.
And also, Jesus Himself tells His disciples how to pray. The Lord’s prayer has everything in it that we need. He says:
‘Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:9-13
Or, another version reads:
He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
Luke 11:1-4
We don’t have to understand all the intricacies of prayer, we just have to be willing to persist in it and let God teach us.
Remember God’s promise: “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matt. 7:7-8
Wait a minute… Will he give us anything? Anything at all? What if I ask to be a millionaire? Will He give me that?
God Gives Us Only Things That are Good for Us
Ok, this seems like a loophole. Like a bait-and-switch- comparable to showing a baby candy so they’ll open their mouth.. and then putting in vegetables instead.
I get how this can seem tricky. But God knows that we can’t live on candy. Candy all the time isn’t good for us, and wouldn’t give us what we need to grow and develop. We need meat and vegetables, grains, and dairy.
What we will also come to learn, is that “good” according to what God knows, is different than what we may think of as “good”.
We are wondering, ‘What’s good for me right in this moment now?’
God is knowing, ‘What is good for them for all time, now and always.’
We’re wondering, ‘How can I enjoy my life for the 80(ish) years I have on the earth?’
God is knowing, ‘How they can enjoy eternity with Me in perfect happiness forever?’
We think good things are: money, status, power, comfort, beauty, love, enjoyment, and pleasure.
God knows good things are: faithfulness, patience, truth, forgiveness, steadfastness, righteousness, and perfect love.
We have a lot to learn about goodness. God invented goodness, and He wants to teach us.
We Can Only Follow Christ Together
‘Wait just a minute now,’ I hear you protesting, ‘People themselves are the biggest impediment to God’s good things! Nothing makes me more impatient, unforgiving, uncharitable, and unloving as being around all the jerks that exist in the world.’
ok, I’m (mostly) kidding. But believe me, I get it! We can all be difficult sometimes, and some people seem difficult most of the time.
But everything in scripture says that we come to God not separately, but all together.
We are going to live with God forever…. But only united in an intimate relationship as one body of believers.
In other words, we won’t just be living within waving distance of each other in our separate, but equal, spaces in heaven. We are going to live together as one family (Rom. 8:12-17), in the same household (John 14:1-2), or even as intimately as members of the same body (1 Cor. 12).
All the words used in scripture that speak about our future with God use words of community- a royal priesthood, a holy city, a temple of the Lord. Intimate togetherness.
Yikes- I know.
But remember, if we want to learn how to do this- not only well, but happily, joyfully, and faithfully- we need to trust the only One who can do miracles, and wants to give us all good things.
It’s going to be better than we think.
Finally, Prayerfully Read the Guide Book
If we want to know about God, we should read the instruction manual.
Scripture, or the Holy Bible, is where God teaches us all those things that we want to know. To know God is to know holy scripture. As the author of Hebrews writes:
‘This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.’
Hebrews 10:16
‘But it’s so confusing!’ I hear you say. ‘It seems impossible!’
That may be so for us, but nothing is impossible with God! If you want to understand scripture, the first thing to do is to read it and pray for understanding.
And we will grow only by reading it for ourselves.
It’s very tempting to rely on other people’s understanding of scripture- whether it be books, videos, podcasts, or sermons. It’s much easier to let other people read it and tell us what it says. However, that won’t work. These resources are all necessary for our spiritual growth, but never in place of our own regular participation in God’s word.
It is a very complicated book, but we all need to know what’s in there. We need to know for ourselves what God has said to do and to not do- and understand it personally.
But don’t worry, we don’t need to know it all today. It’s a process that happens over time. It rarely happens like an earthquake or an avalanche, but more like water slowly working its way through rock.
Because all of this knowledge, knowing God truly and loving Him, is for a purpose. Not just so we can feel better or look better to others, but to be better- to become like God- truly good and truly loving.
It is a knowing, feeling, doing, being, kind of learning. No one else can think that, feel that, know that, or do that, for us.
Does this seem like enough to get us started? I hope so. There’s so much for each of us to learn.
And we can trust that –through God’s grace—we will!