Familiarity

Familiarity is such a problem that modern day Christians are encountering more and more. I am going to begin a series on familiarity posts that I hope are encouraging for you. I hope in the midst of the familiarity you find in your faith, my posts can open your eyes the wonder of Christianity, but most importantly, the wonder of God.

I’ve had the opportunity to grow up in a Christian home my whole life; however, it has had its share of disadvantages through it all. This privilege that was given to me by my parents, but more specifically, God above, however, I have taken this privilege for granted.

One thing in particular that a lot of Christian children who are raised in Christian homes miss the extraordinary realization of the acceptance and dependence we find in Christ. We have lived a life of entitlement, at least, I have. I have lived feeling as though I can do whatever I want and come back to Christ for forgiveness and it’ll all be okay again. I am ashamed to admit this, however, it’s something that I’m working on and it’s detrimental that I come to terms with my feelings. Sometimes, our life with lack of ever being “without Christ” makes us less empathetic but in my heart, I am broken, for I find myself so very often unable to feel love and compassion. I know I’m not the only kid out there that feels this way! I know it! For all of you kids out there that have trouble like I do, that have trouble feeling the greatness and capturing the crazy love we have received in Christ, this is for you. Maybe you’re not even a kid, maybe you’re an adult and you feel this way as well! I don’t promise answers, I’m still trying to figure this out myself, but I want you to know that you’re not alone, and maybe, just maybe, by enlightening this topic more, we can take the first steps to figuring out the solution to this problem as well!

Contemplate your life; review your week, what have you done this week that brought you closer to God? What about further away from God? I don’t know about you, but this week, for me, was tough. I feel like this week had more “drawing away” in it then “drawing near.” I recently found myself contemplating my lack of sympathy for an individual caught between a rock and a hard place, in the shadows of sin, in the darkness of individual pain. I justified my numb feelings by saying “they did this to themselves” or “its best for them to figure out this for themselves” or even, I shamefully admit, I give up on them, I lose compassion and tell myself that I can do nothing about it. Maybe you’re reading this and you say “That’s true, though.” And while, yes, maybe this is true, I think we forget that in the midst of crisis, there is never a moment where we cannot do anything. Can we change the situation? No. Can we end the pain? No we cannot end the pain or change the situation, at least, not on our own. 

Part 1: prayer
Part 2: God's Word
Part 3: God's Acceptance
Part 4: A Forgotten Need
Part 5: Evangelism
Part 6: Christ's Light
Part 7: Sincerity
Part 8: Where Do We Go From Here? (closing remarks)