First Things First ...

How much junk mail do you get in your mailbox? How about spam in your email? How much of it do you pay attention to? If you’re like me the most attention you pay to junk mail in either location is just to make sure it is sorted properly to be discarded. I don’t want to lose “real” mail amidst all the coupon flyers and pseudo newspapers in my mailbox. Nor do I want to delete any “real” messages that may get put in my junk folder by mistake. But no-one I know has the time, let alone the interest, to actually read or pay any real attention to something they have no interest in, like junk mail.

To begin, we need to have something to say. Not just idle prattle, not just words that have been repeated for hundreds of years but have lost all real meaning or relevance, we need something worthwhile to talk about. In short, we need truth. We need the kind of truth that makes a difference in today’s world, and therefore in our own lives. If our lives have not been changed or improved by truth, then we have nothing further to discuss. Our reality must match our language or the gospel becomes nothing more than well packaged junk mail.

Take for instance the topic of romantic relationships and marriage. The traditional Christian viewpoint has much to say on the topic. An entire list of do’s, don’ts, and how to’s – but reality shows us that the divorce rates are as high within the church as outside of it. Obviously what we think we know about marriage is not changing our lives, or improving our ability to stick together. It is plain we are simply doing it wrong. This does not mean the Bible is mistaken, or that we have no knowledge of truth of any kind. It does mean we are missing something substantial in our teachings that would make our marriages the success they should be. Unbelievers have no compelling reason to seek guidance from the church when our failure rates are as high as theirs. It is simple math. We are missing something. Time to fix it.

What we say must be relevant. Nobody cares about a ninety percent off sale that ended two weeks ago. The message must meet the needs of today. It must make a real difference to those who hear it, when they hear it. So often Biblical truth has been taught like a history 101 class. Facts, figures, and morality lessons based on characters that do not face what we face, and do not live in our world. But this need not be the case. It is possible to look at historical truths and extrapolate the values into the world in which we live. It is possible when we see scripture for something more than simple history. Truth must be applied to be relevant.

What we say must be personal. You cannot share what you do not know, what you have not personally experienced. So often Biblical truths have been presented merely as “other people’s” stories, with no real personal application, no real personal insight. No-one seeks advice from the friend of a counselor, they go directly to the counselor for advice. Knowing the relationship that someone else has with God does not give you one of your own. If you have not lived it, then you have no idea what I am talking about. God gets personal with each of us if we let Him. Personal means personal, unique to a great degree, when God interacts with us He meets our individual needs, in the way in which we need Him the most. If we cannot relay our personal results, we are simply repackaging the junk mail again.

What we say must be important. What if I told you that this BLOG will change your life forever for the better? What if I were willing to guarantee it? You might be skeptical, in fact I would expect nothing less. In a world of half-truths and constant disappointments, it is easy to become hardened against any claims of real change, real meaning. Many charlatans make their living from selling dreams that will never be delivered, to people who can barely hang on to hope. But what if the dream were real, and what if it really did not cost you a cent. What if profit were not the motive here? If I am not looking to get rich from helping you then what is my angle you ask?

It turns out, I am already rich, beyond all measure, in everything that is truly important. And it was all a gift, I never deserved or could have earned. I want to share it, because I find joy in the sharing. It is important because it is real. Life altering real. The kind of real that will change the very core of who you are. It changed me, and I have no complaints (well none that matter anyway ). When you discover truth that has meaning, you simply cannot bury it, you cannot hide it – when it is real, you want to shout it from rooftops and hope the whole world can hear you. This is why I am writing. And the more you interact with me, the richer will be the experience for us both. For like you, I remain in the process of learning, even of the truths in which I believe.