A Journey Through The Past

It is a little hard to describe the last couple of weeks. I have had some pretty high "highs" and some pretty low "lows."

A couple of weeks ago I had a chance to meet up with an old friend from college named Tim Krumal. It was great to spend time with Tim and to get to know his family a little. I probably hadn't seen Tim in over twenty-five years.

Tim has a beautiful wife, Jana, and four really great kids. Tim's kids are quite a bit younger than ours, and I was definitely reminded of how fun it was when Pam and I had kids that age. (They are not so bad now either). It was great to see the wonderful things that God has done in Tim's life.

We did some reminiscing and had a few laughs. We talked about challenges we faced after college and I had a chance to tell Tim about my spiritual journey -- a journey in which Tim played an incredible role.

My family had gone to church until I was in about the sixth grade. By the time I met Tim it had been a long time since God had been a part of my life in any meaningful way. I had known two or three people in high school who I was aware were "serious Christians," but other than that, I had all but forgotten about God.

I had been around "Christians" all my life (over 80% of Americans would say they are Christians) -- but Tim was different. Tim had a level of seriousness about his faith that I had only seen from a distance. It was something I really had not experienced before -- and it was both odd and refreshing at the same time. For Tim talking about Jesus came as naturally as breathing did for me. He tried in subtle, and sometimes not so subtle ways, to lead me back to faith in Jesus.

Tim poured into my life during our season together. And, although I felt no closer to God when our season together ended, looking back now I know without any doubt that God placed Tim in my life for a reason. Tim was knowledgeable about the Bible and had his arguments for faith together and all that. But, more than anything Tim was an just a great example of someone who lived what he preached. Tim showed me what it looks like when someone is sincere about their faith -- when someone really puts God first in their life and really works hard to live a life worthy of His calling.

Tim is the Pastor of Family Ministries at Auburn Grace Church, which is near Sacramento California. Not surprisingly, he and Jana have a real passion for teaching spiritual leadership in the home, and it was evident that they practice what they preach. I love Tim and his family and thank God for the seeds that Tim planted in my life.

After seeing Tim and his family I drove through the town in California where I did most of my growing up. It was fun to drive through the old neighborhoods and by the houses where my friends once lived.
Then, last week I learned that one of those old friends, who I was particularly close to late in high school, had unexpectedly passed away. I had not kept in touch the way I wish I would have -- although we did speak on the phone a few months ago. I am thankful for that.
Memories of the time we spent together have been flooding through my mind. They were all good. Ridiculous times; lots of laughs.

One Way, Jesus

"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" John 14:6

If you look under the "What We Believe" section of the Heartland Church web site you will find this statement on the "Salvation of Man":

"We believe that sin has separated each of us from God and His purpose for our lives. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ as both God and man is the only One who can reconcile us to God. We believe that in order to receive forgiveness and "new birth" we must repent, by expressing repentance toward God, faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ and submission to His will."

I hope that Heartland Church is never ambiguous on this critical point. There is only one way to salvation -- through Jesus.

These days, though, there seems to be a reluctance on the part of Christians to speak directly about this truth. At the end of this blog are links to excerpts of interviews of Joel Osteen and Billy Graham on the Larry King show. I am not trying to single these two out -- I certainly have great respect for both men. But when you see the clips there is an unmistakable uneasiness with this subject.

I am sure that part of the reason Christians are uncomfortable with this essential salvation question is an understandable desire not to offend people who hold other religious beliefs, or even no religious beliefs at all. I get that. And, let's face it -- the media has done a good job of painting Christians as an intolerant lot. Speaking plainly that Jesus is the only way probably feeds into that perception, and I think that some of us are just tired of getting beat up.

There is also a growing segment of our society that really believes there are many ways to "salvation" -- whatever that means to a non-Christian. Unfortunately, I am afraid that even many "Christians" have bought into that idea. Below is a link to a clip from the Oprah Winfrey show, where Oprah suggests the idea that Jesus is the only way is foolishness.

I guess that non-Christians see the statement that "Jesus is the only way" as an arrogant, superiority type thing. It is not. It is the truth according to the Word of God -- the Bible. It is a truth that we need to talk about in love, and which we cannot afford to be bashful about. I believe that, apart from the Great Commission, each of us has a moral obligation to spread the good news of Jesus to others. I believe just as strongly that each of us has a moral obligation not to give people false hope that there is some other way to reconciliation with God or to salvation. Standing firm that Jesus is the only way is not a way of saying "I am better than you" -- it is a way of saying "I love you so much that I will tell you the truth even if its costs me."

On more quick comment and I will let you go. A common question I get when I talk about Jesus being the only way is: "what about all the good people in the world who have never heard the name of Jesus?" I don't have time here to really get into this, but there is a fundamental problem with the premise of the question. And that is this -- what does it mean to be "good"? Who decides what is good? When we really think about it, I doubt that there are many Christians who would claim to be good, and virtually none who would claim to be good enough to inherit the Kingdom of God based on their own merits!!

It is recorded in Luke that a certain ruler asked Jesus "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Before answering the question (which was asked by a man who obviously did not realize he was speaking to God) Jesus said "Why do you call me good? No one is good -- except God alone." Luke 18:19. Something to think about.

Oprah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-HNNAqJrxw&feature=related

Joel Osteen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfwYU2pmWYQ

Billy Graham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx29MRL4L6c