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Bible “Knowledge” vs Jesus

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (0)
Saturday, May 18th, 2013

A few good friends and I were chatting on line the other day about the plague of false teaching spreading rapidly in certain sectors of Christianity. It seems that some well known church leaders are teaching hyper Calvinism and other demonic doctrines.  A popular one with male followers promotes the subjugation of women that reduces them to providers of kinky sex for their ruling husbands. Another choice offering from these false teachers has it that people who are not part of the “elect” are damned before they’re born. The reason God gives them bodies is so they can burn in hell!

These false teachers, some of whom have made valuable contributions to the body of Christ earlier in their life, are obsessed with doctrine. They believe the truth is found in “rightly dividing” the scriptures. They’ve applied their considerable intellects to this passion and have come up with conclusions that are as evil and they are stupid. Their relationship begins and ends with the written word, because they don’t realize that the truth is not found in words written on paper in the Bible. Written words made alive by the Holy Spirit can lead you to the Truth while the Bible read by those who worship intellectual knowledge will become a stumbling block to the Truth. The inspired scriptures were written for the purpose of leading us to Christ who, alone, is the truth.

My friend, Steve Crosby, shared the literal definition of truth as it is spoken of in the scriptures. It had to do with fidelity in relationship. Jesus spoke of himself as the truth, because he was true to the original, who is God. So in the biblical context, truth can only be realized in faithful (to the original) relationships. When Jesus said that the truth would set his listeners free, the New Testament wasn’t yet written. Jesus never suggested that we should have a relationship with the Bible. Many who have an intellectual relationship with the scriptures fail to have a relationship with the One to whom the scriptures point. The result ranges anywhere from boring to disastrous.

The good news is that when our lives become integrated with Christ’s though child-like trust and abandonment of all that distracts, we are set free from everything that holds us back from living life in him to the fullest. The struggle brought on by the futile attempt to grasp spiritual understanding with our mind is put to an end and our spirit is set free to explore the unfathomable wonders of his love and grace.

David Fredrickson

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Reckless Abandon

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013

I have a friend who loved to race motorcycles before he was hit by a car. The resulting injury accelerated his kidney failure brought on by diabetes. He does dialysis every day and most often doesn’t feel very well. Yet he never complains. Instead, he works hard at developing a new career while mentoring entrepreneurs free of charge and helping people work through personal development issues. The other day he recruited me to help a young Christian man who he felt was hindered by some religious issues. This was the second time my friend, who happens to be a Jew, was advocating for a Christian.

The longer I know some of my friends who’ve not yet come into a personal relationship with Christ, the more amazed I become at how unselfish, uncritical and caring they are. Some are more transparent, honest and teachable than most Christians I know. I met a friend of Loren Rosser’s who represents a father image to Loren because of his loving, gentle nature, the peace he brought to the work place as a supervisor and his tender heart toward the less fortunate. He does not profess to know Christ personally either.

Both Loren and I admitted that we were convicted by the example of our “unbelieving” friends. Do our lives really contrast so vividly with theirs? So how will they “know we are Christians by our love” if they are just as loving (or more so in some cases) than we are? Maybe we thought that getting free of religion was enough, that receiving Father’s love would transform us so radically that Jesus would be lifted up everywhere we go.

I believe in the transforming power of love. I don’t believe trying harder or that focusing on personal holiness and discipline will do the trick. I don’t think that praying and fasting is the answer. Reading the Bible more won’t do it. I tried all that for years and was as successful as the Pharisees were.

Being patient, kind and caring for others is a good start, but how radically do we do live that way? Love moves one to self sacrifice for whatever advances the kingdom. It requires total abandonment of all that is not attached to Christ in our pursuit of God’s interests.

Jesus’ entire life demonstrated extreme love. He abandoned equality with God and every other privilege of being God in the flesh, broke every rule by becoming sin for us, and scorned every reasonable argument for self preservation or admonition on how to win friends and influence people.

No, love is the only answer. But I believe that we need to recklessly abandon ourselves to the love of God. Other former pastors that learn about my journey through conversation or by reading my book think that I’m a fearless pioneer. News flash: I couldn’t have lived with my conscience if I had continued to support and be supported by a system I no longer believed in.

The truth is, I have been too cautious and calculating. I’m afraid of being rash, moving too fast, losing my life. Losing my life? That’s what’s meant to happen, isn’t it? Writing this scares me spitless, so obviously I’ve got a lot more to learn about Father’s love. I think the only way to find out is to go all out and risk everything at the slightest hint that God is leading. Zeal without wisdom is a caution for young people. At my age, wisdom isn’t the problem. How about you?

David Fredrickson

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Know Them by Their Love

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (0)
Saturday, April 20th, 2013

“Suicide happens after your stupid enough to read ‘The Purpose Driven Life.”

“Poor Matthew denies God’s love with suicide.”

“God is judging Rick Warren for being a false prophet.”

Matthew Warren’s tragic suicide has triggered a variety of vitriolic responses from those who don’t know Christ. Among these hate-mongers are professing Christians. Their comments underline the stark contrast between those who adhere to religious Christianity and those who actually follow Jesus.

I haven’t listened to Rick Warren preach, nor have I read The Purpose Driven Life. I only know that a brother in Christ has suffered the loss of his son. The last thing he and his family need to deal with is venomous remarks launched from withered souls who relate to an angry god.

While wondering how people could be so cruel and insensitive, I am convicted by the realization that I have more compassion for those who don’t know Christ than those who profess to and act otherwise, or misrepresent Christ in any way. So I don’t write these words in the false assumption that I have it together in this area. I need a lot more compassion for the folks I’m addressing here. But it’s astounding to me that people who claim to know Christ often behave in ways that many “unbelievers” would not.

I have friends who espouse new age philosophy, ancient wisdom and Wicca, and others who practice no religion. They respond to tragedies like this with compassion. How is it that some professing Christians are so mean spirited? Jesus said that his followers would be known by their love for one another.

A Pole conducted by the Barna Group asking young people 16-29 years old what they think of Christians reveals that a majority of young adults see them as hypocritical and noted for what they stand against. What do they stand for? Certainly not for one another if the ‘other’ is in a different ‘camp.’ Those whose religion hinges on pet doctrines or philosophical dogma have empathy only with others who believe the way they do about things that are peripheral to what really matters.

People who make comments like the ones mentioned at the beginning of this blog must put aside the self righteous cloak that covers their insecurity and ask themselves what spirit moves them. Fortunately for them, God won’t judge them according to the standards of the vengeful god they worship. God loves them and is longing for them to know him. He’s ready to teach them the way of love if they’re willing to give him the slightest opportunity.

David Fredrickson

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How dark does it have to get?

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (2)
Tuesday, April 16th, 2013

“Things are getting so bad; Jesus is going to come back soon!”  I’ve heard this numerous times from believers.  In fact, I’ve said it myself.  Last week my wife was treated out to lunch by a dentist and her staff to celebrate my wife’s completion of her externship and becoming a full-fledged dental assistant.  As they enjoyed their lunch they began talking about how bad things are getting in the world.  Most of them being Christians started talking about how Jesus must be about to return because things are getting so bad.  There was kind of a sense of, “God’s gonna show those sinners a thing or two!”

It’s interesting that when Jesus spoke about His return He often compared it to a wedding.  The groom, Jesus, and the bride, the church, are married at last.  Yet, when most Christians talk about His return it sounds more like they’re waiting for the return of the cowboy Clint Eastwood played in “Unforgiven.”  The measure of how soon He’ll return is based on how bad things get.  When it’s dark as can be Jesus will come riding back, guns a blazing, and take down all those dirty rotten sinners.  We’ll get the best seats in the house as we watch all them bad guys get their “come upins.”

But when I look at what Jesus said about His return I must say, I think Christians are gaging the proximity of His return by the wrong thing.  It’s interesting that Jesus likens His return to a groom coming to get His bride for their wedding.  Well, what is the main characteristic of a couple that is engaged?  They are deeply in love with each other!  So much so that they can no longer stand being a part.  They’ve got to be together as one.

What is the bride like before the wedding?  She is very excited.  She is counting the days, hours, and seconds until she’ll be married.  This is the biggest day in her life.  She and her fiancé are seen together making plans, holding hands, sneaking in a kiss, and sharing their dreams.  She can’t wait for her wedding.

This is why Jesus will return, for a church that is so in love with Him that they simply can’t stand being a part for one more second.  He’s returning for a church that looks and behaves like a bride just before her wedding.  Jesus will be coming back because He and His church are deeply in love and ready to get married.

Many Christians behave like women who only want to get married to get away from their stinking families or move out of their stinking neighborhoods.  They’re not in love with the guy they’re going to marry.  He’s just their ticket out.  Let me ask you, would a sane man want to marry a woman like that?  She doesn’t love him for who he is.  She doesn’t even really know him!  What kind of marriage would they even have?

Believers have been looking the wrong direction for Christ’s return.  The world is dark and it always will be.  And I’m sure it will just get darker.  But that isn’t what Jesus is looking at any more than a groom watches the six o’clock news to determine when he’s going to get married.  He looks at the woman he loves!  When they’re both ready the wedding date is set, the plans are made, and the two get married.

Jesus is looking at us, not the darkness!  He’s coming back because He wants to get married.  He’ll come back when His bride wants to get married too and she has made herself ready.

Loren Rosser

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Jesus son of Zeus?

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (2)
Monday, April 1st, 2013

It was fun reading the Easter posts on Facebook yesterday as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection.   But many of the posts were written from a perspective of God that is so familiar to me and yet so amiss.  They’re familiar to me because I used to share the same point of view.  The perspective is of a God who is so righteous and just that He was desperate to kill somebody over this whole sin issue.  He was like a Volcano ready to blow if our sins weren’t dealt with.  But then Jesus “the God whisperer” came along and was able to steer His Dad’s wrath away from us by capturing His attention so we could make a break for it.  Like the heroic Dr. Allen Grant in Jurassic Park who lit the flare and drew the T-Rex away from devouring the children in the SUV, Jesus stood in front of God the Father waving His arms crying out, “Over here Dad!  Devour me instead!”  God’s angry gaze turned from us and zeroed in on His brave Son.  In one rapid move He charged at His Son, snatched Him up and hung Him on a cross.  Then the rage slowly lifted from the angry God.  He could be calm at last.  He spent all His anger on His boy.  Then like the end of a Disney animated movie, Angry God transformed into mostly loving God – only to have occasional fits when either we, certain groups of people, or certain countries don’t cut it.

That picture of the angry god that has to be appeased is nothing new.  It is the image of a supreme being held by a vast number of pagan cultures.  This is a description of Zeus, Jupiter, Thor and the god’s of the Incas, Aztecs, Mayans, and countless other cultures throughout history.  These gods were angry and ready to devour so blood continually had to be shed to appease them.  So how did the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob come to be lumped in with these pagan gods that were so desperately in need of anger management?  Simple.  We couldn’t see God for who He is, so like the pagans, we created one in our own image.  All through history humanity has carried guilt and shame over their sins.  Left to ourselves, we carry the knowledge that we deserve to be punished.   Just like Adam and Eve who hid themselves in the Garden after they sinned, there is a shame that causes people to hide from God.  We were too ashamed to stand before Him.  We couldn’t see Him.  We assumed God must feel the same way about us.  The gods of humanity were nothing more than mirrors reflecting ourselves.  Christians have been no different.  They have tacked onto the living God their own image.  This is why the face of Christianity has been one of greed, selfishness, discord, anger, bitterness, hatred, and hypocrisy in much of the world.  Much of the church has lacked power because the world looks and sees a mirror reflecting back their own familiar faces.

The living God doesn’t look like fallen humanity.  The living God is love.  Most Christians would read those words and nod their heads in agreement.  But the fact of the matter is most people don’t even know what real love is!  So God is loving, but He’s ticked and ready to blow.  God is loving, but He hates some people.  God is loving, but He’s pretty eager to chuck some souls into hell.  God is loving, but He can’t get over what you did last night!  YOU BETTER MAKE IT RIGHT WITH HIM!  This is not God!  That’s a reflection of our human nature!

1 Corinthians 13 describes God beautifully because it paints a picture of love, and God is love.  Love is God’s personality.  God is patient.  God is kind.  God does not envy.  God does not boast.  God is not proud.  God is not rude.  God always trusts.  God always hopes.  God never fails.  Think about it.  Doesn’t that describe Jesus perfectly?  And Jesus said if we’ve seen Him we’ve seen the Father.  They are the same!  But this true picture of God doesn’t line up with the world’s image.  This is why Jesus wasn’t received by most of His own people, especially the religious crowd!  They didn’t recognize the God they saw before them – a God of love.

It wasn’t God that was seeking blood – it was sin.  The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death.  In other words, sin pays out death.  Credit cards demand cash, cars demand gas, and sin demands death.  No wonder all the pagan gods demand blood!  Sin demands it!  And it was a monster that wouldn’t be satisfied.  Sin was the T-Rex running loose, not God the Father.

But God did a beautiful thing.  Do you recall the story of Abraham when God asked him to go sacrifice his only son Isaac?  I always read that story as Abraham represented God and Isaac represented Jesus and God was using them to paint a picture of what God was going to do to his own son.  Only God being kind, stopped Abraham before he drove the knife into Isaac and provided him with a ram to sacrifice instead.  But just this week I caught something interesting.  As Abraham was taking Isaac to the place to be sacrificed and Isaac asked him where the animal was he would sacrifice Abraham said, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.”  Then just as Abraham was about to kill Isaac God stopped him and showed him there was a ram caught in the thicket.  They sacrificed the ram instead.  Although this act is multilayered and much can be drawn from it, I realized something. Isaac is me and you!  Sin was hanging over our heads and bringing us death.  It was demanding payment.  Just as Abraham loved his son and didn’t want him to die, God so loved us and didn’t want us to die.  So as death (the knife) moved towards us God stopped it in the nick of time and provided Himself a lamb (Jesus) in our place.  Like a hero, Jesus stepped out in front of us and took the brunt of everything we deserved and paid the debt in full once and for all.  Sin needed to kill, NOT GOD!  God provided the lamb to take our place, so like Isaac, we could live!

This is a far cry from the angry God picture I grew up hearing about in church.  God is the same loving God today He always has been.  It’s just humanity was blind to who He really is until Jesus came and revealed Him to us.  So now when I read the Bible or hear people talking and I start seeing mean God I realize there is something I’m not seeing, something is amiss.  Love has become my default position.  If something doesn’t line up with love then there is something I’m not seeing that I need Him to reveal to me.  It’s okay for God to still have some mystery about Him.  We don’t have to have all the answers.  But the one answer we should be certain of is that He is love and everything He does is motivated by love for us.

Loren Rosser

 

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Two Masters

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (2)
Friday, March 22nd, 2013

“Your god is greedy.  I saw all the gold and silver you had stored up for him. That’s okay, we have greedy gods too.” said the Viking to the Christian monk.  These words were spoken in a conversation between two characters on History Channel’s new series, “Vikings.”  One of the Vikings made this observation after raiding a monastery and enslaving one of the monks.  It’s strange that a heathen Viking could see so clearly what the monk could not, that in spite of being separated from the rest of the world by the monastery walls, the monk was actually very much a part of the world.  He couldn’t separate himself from the world because the problem was not external; rather the world’s way of thinking was in the monk.  He wasn’t serving the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but a heathen god like the ones the Vikings worshiped.

But before we get all haughty as we look at the foolish, worldly monk, I think we need realize just how easy it is to worship a “greedy god.”  To be more specific, believers are often convinced that they are following Christ, but many times it is actually not He who has their affections but the almighty dollar.  Over the past few weeks Father has been turning my perspective on money completely upside down.  And let me tell you, it has been every bit as revolutionary in my life as was stepping outside of organized religion, if not more so.

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”  What really stands out to me is Jesus didn’t say, “It will be a bit challenging to blend serving God with serving money, but if you’re really spiritual you can do it!”  He said we can only serve one and whichever one you chose to be devoted to will result in you DESPISING the other.  No gray area there!

I’ve seen in my own life when I’ve set my heart on money there is a subtle resentment towards God in my attitudes.  And I’m not even talking about getting all greedy and trying to become the next Donald Trump.  For me it was as simple as trying to secure my life – you know, figure out how I could buy a house, take regular vacations, have a nice retirement.  Oh, of course I would give to the things of God, who wouldn’t?  But see, what is the bottom line of the pursuit of money?  SECURITY!  We want to be in control of our lives.  We want to call the shots.  We want to be the boss.  We want to trust in ourselves and be our own lords.  But when we set our affections on Him, we give Him control and we give up ours.  We let Him call the shots and we yield to His desires.  This is why Jesus said such radical things as when you go preach the gospel take nothing with you or when you give don’t let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.  The issue is trust.  Where is our trust, in Him or in our money?  His heart is that we would live knowing He is our source and provider – not we, ourselves.

I used to think that Jesus wanted us to live this way because He likes to make things difficult.  But as He’s been shifting my affections away from money and I’ve been setting them on Him I’ve been discovering something interesting.  I’m happy.  I’m genuinely happy.  Jesus came that we would have life and the things He shows us are for that purpose.  He didn’t share the things He did about money to make us miserable, quite the opposite.

Loren Rosser

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Lessons From Downton Abbey

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (0)
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013

Like many people, I’m hooked on the program Downton Abbey.  For those of you who haven’t seen it, the program takes place early in the 20th century in the home of a British lord.  Not only are the production values fantastic and the acting and writing phenomenal,  the program is filled with so many spiritual truths that one could write volumes on the lessons gleaned from the program.  But the thing that came blaring through to me from the first episodes was the difference between being a servant and being a son.  I’ve heard many believers state with great pride that they are servants of God.  Yet, Jesus made it clear, we are no longer servants.  Thanks to Him, we are now sons, adopted into the Lord’s family.  Today, the weight of that reality is lost.  But on Downton Abbey the difference between a servant and a son is made so clear.  A servant has an extremely formal working relationship with his master.  The servant does what he is told and does not speak his mind.  In fact, he only speaks when spoken to.  He does not voice his thoughts, nor is he free to do so.  His opinion has little to no value in the household, nor is it readily accepted.  He has no voice in the affairs of the house.  He is expected only to follow orders.  He does not eat or fellowship at the master’s table nor with the master’s family.  He only hangs around the other servants and is an heir of nothing.

On the program there is a young man named Matthew who is a picture of a New Testament believer.  See, when the apostles spoke of the followers of Christ being “the sons of God” they weren’t being sexist.  In the time they wrote the world was indeed sexist.  There was a huge difference between being a son and a daughter of a lord or king.  Downton Abbey paints the same picture.  The daughters could not inherit the rank and title nor the wealth of their fathers.  That went to the sons.  Being that the lord on Downton Abbey had no son of his own, he appointed a young cousin of his to be his heir.  He was adopted into the family just as we have been adopted into God’s family.  But the lord loved that young man as if he were his own son.  The relationship he had with Matthew was completely different than he had with the servants.  As a son, he not only would receive everything that belonged to the lord, he also freely ate his table.  He was able to freely speak his mind and enjoyed conversations with the lord on a regular basis.  The lord valued Matthew’s thoughts and opinions.  Matthew’s concerns were his concerns and the lord’s concerns were Matthew’s concerns.  As the heir, Matthew had a voice in determining the future of the estate and he lacked for nothing.  Everywhere he went he was recognized as being a man of importance because of his relationship with the lord and being his heir.

Watching that program made me ponder, why would anybody ever boast about being a servant of God?  A servant does not have the same standing as a son.  I’ve heard many believers say, “Well, I’m a servant and a son.”  After watching Downton Abbey I’ve come to realize just how ridicules that statement is.  If the heir was also a servant something has gone horribly wrong in that household.  I would have been greatly concerned about Matthew if he was standing next to the table silently, dressed like a footman waiting on his lord, while the lord and his family and guests enjoyed their dinner.  Matthew would have looked like a fool.  Perhaps that is how many believers look.  They are sons standing around like servants oblivious to who they are.  We have the same positional standing with the King of kings and the Lord of lords that Mathew on Downton Abbey had with his lord.  Through Jesus we are kings and priests seated at the table with THE King and Priest.  We can eat and fellowship with Him on a regular basis.  It is our God-given right to do so.  And anybody who tells you otherwise is a fool.

Loren Rosser

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Uncommon Love

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (3)
Saturday, February 16th, 2013

Someone I love very much said something that annoyed me, and my immediate response was a cynical thought: “That’s just the way they are.” Immediately the Holy Spirit answered me with: “No they’re not, they’re holy.”

That little exchange brought me up short and gave me a lot to think about. I know that God has made us holy in Christ. Or do I?  Funny how truths one’s heard for years become little more than clichés if they’re not lived out in actual life experience. Of course man-made doctrines have defined our righteousness in Christ as a legal standing only. But how would it impact our relationships if we treated one another as we would Jesus if he made himself visible and paid us a visit? I’m convicted for treating a holy vessel as something common. It means that I must have forgotten that they’re one among the kings and priests favored by the King of kings.

I’ve been to hundreds of meetings where Christians were begging God to pour out his Spirit and reveal his glory. Well, he’s already done both. He’s given us his Spirit and is revealing his glory in us. What more can he give us? The God that spoke the universe into existence loves us so much and values us so highly he wrapped himself in flesh, destroyed death, made us his sons and daughters and heirs of all creation, lives in us and continues to store up treasures for us in heaven too wonderful for the eyes to behold or for words to describe.

We who are so loved by God, made holy in Christ and have this incredible treasure in earthen vessels are anything but common. Seeing another brother or sister as the king, priest and holy servant of the most high God has a way of radically changing our thoughts and attitudes toward them.

David Fredrickson

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Praying for failure

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (3)
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

My former youth pastor who is now a senior pastor is currently in India for the purpose of planting a church in a region that is pretty much unreached with the gospel.  As I follow his updates on Facebook where he continually asks for prayer for his team as they pursue their goal I find myself in an interesting position.  He recently posted that his team went into a sex workers village where they met an older gentleman and led him and his entire extended family of 10+ people to Christ.  I found myself cheering at the news, knowing Christ’s life and love reached these people.  The darkness was no match for the light!  But then he went on to say they may adopt that village to start a church.  What an odd statement?  Didn’t 10+ people just come to Christ?  I responded to his post by saying, “It sounds to me like God already planted a church there. Ten 10+ people just came to Christ. The church is now there.”

I found myself in a strange position.  On the one hand I’m cheering for my friend as he brings the message of Jesus to those who have never heard.  Yet, on the other hand, I’m actually praying against the very reason he went to India – to plant a church.  At least what he has in his mind about what it means to plant a church.  What these people need is Jesus.  What they don’t need is the poison of American institutional Christianity tainting and spoiling that message.  The last thing I want for those people who are finding liberty in Christ is to lose it under the banner of religious obligation, ranks, titles, “ministries”, and money.

I’m reminded of a Chinese Christian who was speaking to an American pastor.  The message of Christ was flourishing in the village where this man lived.  People were coming to Christ right and left and miracles were happening regularly.  The Chinese man asked the American pastor to pray that things would change in China so that they could build church buildings, have paid pastors, Christian schools, and there would no longer be oppression from the government toward believers.  The American pastor responded, “I’m not going to pray for any of those things.  The church in China is thriving in ways we in America can only dream of, and we have all the things you’re asking for.”

I am all for the church being in the dark regions of India.  But by church, I mean the actual definition, people who know and love Christ.  I am not for an institutional church being established and bringing mixture into their currently pure faith in Christ.  What they need is not American dollars, buildings, and an organizations.  What they need is simply to be pointed to Jesus, encouraged to continue in their relationship with Him, and out of that to love one another.  That’s it!  Let Christ build His church.  Don’t let it be a dot on the map in which an American Christian organization can boast about its new franchise and use to prove they are making a difference in the world in order to solicit donations.  Those people in India are not projects – they are people.  I find myself in the same position as the American pastor talking to the Chinese Christian.  I pray the message of Jesus finds great success, but I pray their plans to “plant a church” are frustrated.

Loren Rosser

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Virtual Christianity

By Beyond Church Walls · Comments (0)
Monday, December 10th, 2012

My wife and I just got home from a vacation in Disneyland with our daughter, her husband and a friend. As you know, attractions that simulate real life adventures are a favorite at the popular resort. Star Tours uses “state-of-the-art technology – including a flight motion simulator vehicle, digital 3-D video, Audio Animatronics character and in-cockpit special effects – to transport you to a galaxy far, far away.” Recently, the ride’s been re-tooled and now includes multiple story lines and locations. The effect is so stunning that I’m sure if someone who had lapsed into a coma before technology had advanced to this level awoke and got on this ride they would have no doubt that they were experiencing the real thing.

I was reminded that many Christians today are living in an illusion that’s as convincing as Star Tours would be to the awakened coma patient. The ride first began immediately after they repeated “the sinner’s prayer.” They were taught that the Bible is their road map and that attending church is essential to their spiritual journey. At church they would learn correct doctrine which would keep them on the road of righteousness. At times they become inspired by motivational speakers on Sunday morning, and since they agree with the principles, they think they’re living accordingly. Occasionally they may experience an emotional high during the worship service and tears may even come to their eyes when a touching testimony is shared. They believe this reflects their heart for God. Faithful church attendance and tithing demonstrate their commitment. Learning more about the Bible tells them they’re growing spiritually. If they achieve a leadership position, they know they’re going places fast.

The sad truth is that these people are living in a kingdom that has absolutely no relationship to the kingdom of God. It’s simply a worldly system that seeks to simulate a reality that is far, far away from the religious world in which they live. Fundamental truths of discipleship that Jesus set before his followers are a completely foreign concept to most Western Christians. And how could any of us “abandon all to follow” Christ if we don’t’ know him? Who would be willing to “lose their life” for his sake? Why would we deny ourselves and take up our cross daily to follow one who invites us to die with him unless we’ve experienced resurrection?

The rich young ruler knew about him and his miracles, but he hadn’t experienced his love. He probably knew what Jesus taught and gave intellectual assent to it, but he had no relationship with the Person. Yet, as he went away with a sad heart, Jesus looked at him and loved him. And that’s the bottom line. Responding to the love of God is the only reality that has the power to transfer one from virtual Christianity into the kingdom of the son of his love.

In Disneyland we walked back toward our hotel on a brisk evening after a day filled with good food and tantalizing illusions. We were surprised to come upon a candlelight ceremony featuring a 500 voice choir singing “Oh Come Let Us Adore Him!” After the narrator read the story of the nativity from the Bible and emphasized the true meaning of Christmas the choir broke into the Halleluiah Chorus. For a moment, illusion was swallowed up by reality. Jesus.

David Fredrickson

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