Affiliation infers commonality of beliefs with others who claim that category. Yet, even within these boundaries, there are significant disparities beyond the broader principles. Protestant example: dunk or sprinkle? Jewish: orthodox or reformed? Muslim: peace or jihad?
These differences are rooted in a question that everyone seeks to answer, regardless of any particular "affiliation". The question is this:
Who/what is God and how do I get right with him/her/it?
Even atheism asks at least the first part of that question.
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Our little girl has been pushing me lately on the topic of evolution vs. creationism. She attends a small private Christian school where creationism is fundamental. Our girl has a brilliant mind and she sincerely wants to reconcile ancient genetics and Ice Age fossils with the Garden of Eden. She appears to be fully supportive of creationism, but she is smart enough to ask the tough questions.
Makes it challenging for me to be an effective teacher - much of my faith is rooted in "because the Bible says so."
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There is a distinctly human arrogance to our demand for comprehension - to suspend belief and acceptance until we have full understanding. Do we really believe that we are capable of ingesting and interpreting the mysteries of the universe, of all that exists?
Don't get me wrong - I go there in my head all the time. What if I'm mistaken? What if this Jesus business is bunk and I'm just another deluded organism in need of fellowship and safe harbor?
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The goal of Lenten abstinence is sacrificial self-denial to glorify God and celebrate Christ's resurrection. As some of you know, my annual Lenten observance includes abstinence from Facebook. I've heard commentary from pastors and others who think it's dumb and borderline sacrilege - millions of Christians around the world go without Facebook every day.
Yet - in my case, anyway - Facebook can easily become a distraction. Many mornings, I find myself reaching for my phone first, "just to check" Facebook. After that, I'll play a couple of my favorite word games, then I'll do my morning prayer and meditation if I still have time before work. Priority issues? Ya think?
See, I need to find out how my friends are doing and if someone has posted something funny or if there is news within my circle, especially the kind requires prayer or support. But if I'm honest with myself, I also want to see if people "liked" my frequent status updates. It's humiliating to admit, but when I relapse into full-blown Facebook addiction, this is where I gather evidence of my value.
And so it is that Facebook abstinence is precisely the right Lenten observance for me. Every time I find myself yearning to just check in on Facebook, my conscience nudges me to reach for Scripture instead.
Because, you see - that is where I find my true value as well as the answer to my question.
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Try as we might, we cannot rely on a particular affiliation to satisfactorily and completely answer that question. There are billions of affiliates around the world who've found their answer in this or that religion, and they believe theirs to be the only "right" one, to the exclusion of all others.
The reason I know that faith in salvation through Christ is right for me is because there is something somewhere deep in my marrow, in the core of everything I am, that harmonizes with it. Sometimes I can get close enough to feel the right-ness of it, the truth of it, and I feel a sense of home that I've never felt anywhere or with anyone else. It's a song in my heart with a completely perfect melody. It doesn't make me perfect - but it puts me in right relationship with my Creator.
Maybe it isn't right for you. I can't say. But it is 100% right for me, and I pray that you find whatever is the right answer for you and your question.
Right with God. A right standing with God. Thankfully, I no longer demand to understand it... instead I seek to maintain it.
Such is the essence of righteousness.
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