When God moved from Abstract Idea to Reality

I have been listening to Mark Hart, the "Bible Geek" a lot lately, and in a series he did on knowing Christ he hit upon something that I have never been able to put into words, exactly.

I have lots of friends who believe- they know that God is real- they try to live a moral life- but the whole idea of a personal relationship with Christ is abstract at best. Not that they don't listen to the preaching or that they discount what they learn, only it is still in their heads and not in their hearts.

Mark said repeatedly that the longest distance for any Christian is the distance between their head and their heart. So very true.

I grew up Catholic- spent 12 years in Catholic school where there was daily religion class and Mass several times a week. My head "got" what I believed and at times, it reached my heart, but not always.

I love to read other perspectives on being Christian- I have a whole bookshelf in my house devoted to religious writing - from the New Agey stuff like Women who Run with the Wolves, to the lives of the saints, the writing of Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa and Saint Augustine- he's one of my favorites. But I also read Max Lucado, Gary Smalley, James Dobson, TD Jakes and a dozen other preachers who send email newsletters which serve as inspiration. I read Black Elk and Sitting Bull and publications about the Red Road- which sound a lot like St Francis of Asissi.

None of these things are the reason Christianity is not an abstract concept to me - though they help keep the relationship healthy.

Mark hit it on the head ( I'm paraphrasing here)
It is not until you have faced suffering and death as a reality in your life - until you NEED a SAVIOR and not just a buddy or a listening ear that you truly know Jesus. When we are at that point of desperation and we feel the magic fortifying power of His Grace- in that moment where we surely could not have stood alone, that we know Him as reality, In that moment, He goes from public figure to intimate friend.

It is then that we stop questioning whether a group of first century fishermen were willing to create a religious movement, leave their families and their hometowns, and be brutally put to death for their beliefs. In that moment where we intensely feel the hand of Christ upon our lives, it all makes sense. It wasn't their belief in the movement- it was their belief in Jesus- in who He was to them - the breathing- talking- laughing-joking- charismatic- man's man who walked the roads with them. They didn't die to promote a religion or a church or a building or a theocracy, but they would certainly die to follow the teaching of their friend.

I have friends like that - ones that I would go to bat for no matter what - ones that I would die for - I imagine you do too. Funny thing is, no matter how much I try, I will fail these friends at least once- maybe a dozen times even though I love them. It is the same with with being Jesus' friend. We all fail - and each time we do, He is there and willing to forgive.

I have faced death way more times than I should have - with a baby who would stop breathing - then a teenager who would seize in the most inopportune locations which put his life at risk. I have had 2 people try to kill me - not just the Ogre, but my first husband as well. I have sat awake all night watching over my kids to make sure that no harm came to them, like some figure out of WWII sitting in a bunker waiting for the enemy to come storming in. I have held the hands of a dozen dying people when I worked at the hospital and faced Death when talking to my dad about his imminent passing. Maybe that isn't more than other folks- some peolple see more death than that before their 2nd birthday - but for me, it was in those times that I needed a savior- a deliverer- a hero to swoop in and save me.
And He did, just like any good friend would do.