The Danger of Seeking Jesusਨਮੂਨਾ

Several years ago, I sat in a coffee shop, reading my Bible in preparation for Easter. I was reading through Jesus's famous "Blessed are" statements in Luke 6. As I read "Blessed are the poor," I thought, "I'm not poor." When I read "Blessed are the hungry," I realized I hadn't missed a meal in years. None of the blessings matched my experience.

However, a few verses later, I read, "Woe to you who are rich... Woe to you who are full." Suddenly, all the warnings described me perfectly. I sat there, uncomfortable, realizing this happens when we let Jesus's Words speak for themselves instead of trying to make them fit our comfortable lives.

This discomfort—this sense that Jesus's Teachings don't align with our natural thinking—is precisely what Nicodemus experienced in his nighttime conversation with Jesus when Jesus told him he needed to be Born Again.

"How can these things be?" As Nicodemus struggled to understand being Born Again, Jesus expressed surprise: "You're a religious expert, yet you don't grasp these fundamental spiritual Truths?"

This disconnect reveals something important: from the beginning, people found it difficult to understand Jesus's Teachings. Paul made the same observation in 1 Corinthians. "The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved."

About fifteen years ago, researchers studied teenagers' beliefs in American churches. Christian Smith termed the results "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism"—a watered-down version of Christianity that bears little resemblance to Jesus's actual Teachings. These five widespread beliefs are also common among adults:

1. God is like a watchmaker who created everything but isn't intimately involved today. This contradicts the Biblical teaching that God is deeply engaged in our daily lives.
2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair, as most world religions teach. This implies all faiths teach the same things—something devout followers of any significant religion would strongly disagree with.
3. The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good. While God doesn't want us to be miserable, the heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 demonstrate that following God often leads to suffering.
4. God is like a cosmic butler—only needed when problems arise. Scripture doesn't present God as spiritual tech support, merely there to solve problems when they pop up.
5. Good people go to Heaven when they die. This view assumes God grades on a curve. But this raises the question: “Why did Jesus have to die if good people automatically go to Heaven?”

The temptation we all face is this: Will we adjust Jesus to fit our modern views or adjust our views to reflect the Truths Jesus taught?

If it's been a while since Jesus's Words made you uncomfortable, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John again. When you encounter Jesus's Teachings, you'll face the same decision I did in the coffee shop: “Will you adjust yourself to Jesus, or will you try to adjust Jesus to fit where you already are?” Your answer is eternally significant!

Tomorrow, I'm going to ask you a question that will reveal a difficult Truth about you and a Beautiful Truth about Jesus.