Stress
Trauma
Helplessness
Depression
Anxiety
PTSD
Weariness
Loneliness, abandonment
Inadequacy, incompetence
Anger, violence
Fear
Addiction
Does being a Christian making any difference with these life issues?
Being a Christian means following Jesus (Mark 8:34), not just following the Bible. Following Jesus is much more personal than adhering to laws and principles that are stated in the Bible. Jesus relates to us within the inner person – within the heart, the spirit, the mind, the soul.
The inside part of you is your internal guidance system. See the illustration below.
Internal guidance system
This is the deep part of you that guides how you think and feel and how you communicate and act. The internal guidance system is made up of your core beliefs. A belief is an idea or concept that you take to be true, to be real. Core beliefs are the ideas you take to be true about the most important things – mainly what you believe about yourself, about the world (including people, how life works, and how you fit in life), and about God. You may be aware of some of your core beliefs and able to tell someone else what they are. But some of your core beliefs are unconscious – they are real and they are guiding you, but you are not really aware of them. It is almost as if you have them and don’t know about them. They are so deep in you that the only way you are aware of them is by the feelings and thoughts and behaviors that they produce. Core beliefs guide how you act.
A faith relationship with Jesus shapes the inside part of you (Romans 12:2). As you follow Jesus personally, your core beliefs change and grow. His beliefs become yours. What he knows to be true, to be real, takes root in your heart. You find what you need to be joyful, confident, and secure. Most of all, you experience love – God’s love for you and your love for yourself and for others and for God.
So you can make alternative responses to the factors and reasons that bring about those life issues I listed above. Remember, having a relationship with Jesus is not merely another method for resisting negativity, or for feeling better, or for becoming successful. It is a way of life – the way to live in sync with your Creator.
We do go to the Bible to learn how to have a relationship with Jesus and what we experience in him. Here are four realities that we can have in that relationship which are keys to having a thriving lifestyle.
REALITY 1
JESUS’ GOAL FOR US
Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV.)
Jesus’ goal for us is ABUNDANT LIFE.
Abundant life means becoming fully alive with the life God created us to live.
Some characteristics of that kind of life include love, joy, and peace. Also abundant life includes things like: full acceptance by God; forgiveness of wrongs; being assured of your importance and value; belonging to your Creator; freedom from evil’s authority; understanding and participating in God’s eternal plan; caring relationships with other people.
In a relationship with Jesus, you can be experiencing more and more of the life that God intends for you.
REALITY 2
JESUS’ INVITATION TO US
Jesus gave this invitation: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29 ESV).
Jesus’ invitation to us is to come to him and have SOUL REST.
The Message version of the Bible expresses Matthew 11:28-29 like this: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
When you come to Jesus with faith, you will be able to recover from the heavy loads and stresses that damage your life. It doesn’t mean there won’t be any loads or stresses. You’ll have struggles and problems. In Christ, when you come to him and walk and work with him and keep company with him, you will be renewed and strengthened so they don’t beat you down.
REALITY 3
JESUS’ IMPACT ON US
Genesis 1:27-28 (ESV) tells what God’s original design for humanity was: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
Then we read in the New Testament: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV).
Jesus’ impact on us is giving us a RENEWED IDENTITY.
Humans were designed to be like God and to work with God in the world. Then humanity rebelled against God and the design was ruined (see Romans 1:18-32). In a relationship with Jesus, the design is restored and remade. Humans find our true identity; we find who we are and what we are all about. We experience being a child of God (1 John 3:1-2), deeply loved by and belonging to our Creator. We experience being a servant/partner of God (2 Corinthians 5:20), called and authorized to work with God in the world. The impact Jesus makes is giving us a renewed identity.
REALITY 4
JESUS’ PROPOSAL TO US
The Bible tells us Jesus did this: “Jesus was going through towns and villages, telling the good news about God’s kingdom” (Luke 8:1 CEV).
Then Jesus told his followers this: “My little group of disciples, don’t be afraid! Your Father wants to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32 CEV).
Jesus’ proposal to us is the KINGDOM VENTURE.
The kingdom does not mean just heaven. The Kingdom is God ruling with the power to confront and defeat evil and to make people whole and to eventually restore the entire creation to order. People who are in the Kingdom are living in a new culture where God is with them and God is loving them. We are in a new community where God’s people are and God is working in and through them. We are in an environment where God’s victory will be completed. Being given the Kingdom means being included in a greater story with a greater outcome than anything else. Jesus proposes that we put our lives in his Kingdom venture.
These realities of Jesus provide an alternative lifestyle that makes a difference with painful life issues.
Jesus’ goal of abundant life affects real issues and real needs, not just causing a dopamine release in the brain and temporary pleasurable feelings.
Jesus invites us to have rest for our souls. Following him is not especially easy, but we can go to him and to his people and have a real way to recover, to re-strengthen, and to be refreshed.
In a relationship with Jesus, we can find our true identity and become the person we are meant to be.
In a relationship with Jesus, we have God’s Kingdom, meaning we are part of a new creation where there is healing and freedom and new life. We can experience God’s victory over the evil of the world, and we will be part of his final victory.
Faith in Jesus is a way of life that affects everything. In that way of life there is an alternative to life’s struggles and pains.
(Adapted from Gear Up, chapter 4, Copyright © 2020 by Michael Heady)