Seeing Old Things New

There's an expression in the South that says, "If it were a snake it would have bit me".  The idiom means that sometimes things are right before our very eyes and maybe have been for years but we just couldn't see them.  I feel that way with the Scriptures sometimes.  I have been a serious student of Holy Scripture for decades, however, there a few things in the Bible that I seem to be seeing more clearly since traveling toward Orthodoxy.  I'll share just a few.

Fasting
There are countless times in both Testaments when God called his people to fast for specific purposes.  We also have commands in the New Testament & a solid biblical example of the whole church engaging as one in the practice of fasting (Mt 4:2, Mt 6:16, Acts 13:2).  Ironically, despite these and other numerous examples I was never encouraged to fast as a part of my Protestant past.  In fact, I attended a church called a "bible church"and never once was I encouraged to fast.  I attended a seminary that proclaimed the Scriptures as true yet I was never encouraged to practice these Scriptures.  I read those verses for years but never "saw" the need for fasting in relation to our spiritual growth.  If it were a snake it would have bit me.

Caring For The Poor
Jesus rubbed elbows with folks from the other side of the tracks and he expects us to as well.  In fact this is so important that my attitude & actions toward the poor really show whether my heart is with Christ or with the world.  I will be judged one day on how I treated the poor, oppressed and less fortunate Christ sent to me (Mt 25) and this judgement will play a role on where I spend eternity.  Again, if it was a snake it would have bit me.

Leading A Lifestyle Of Moderation
My grandfather used to tell me stories of his growing up.  Stories of how he picked cotton until his fingers bled.  Tales of fishing on the Atchafalaya river for food.  Stories about getting an apple or fruit for a Christmas present.  This was always the part that disturbed me when I was a kid.  Fruit for Christmas?  That's it?  Boy, I'm glad I wasn't born back in that day.

It seems that as our nation has prospered it has brought with it a sense of entitlement of things.  It seems God's people aren't immune to this either.  The bigger the church the better.  We need more technology, plasma TV's, bigger houses, nicer cars.  The American Dream has become the Church's dream.  In fact if you look at the lifestyles of many churchgoers and compared it to conservative well to do atheists you would see little difference except for attending church one day a week.

Jesus called us to forsake the world and not be of the world.  John even went so far to say that love for the things of the world and the things of God is the ultimate oxymoron.  However, I hear a different message today.  You can have it all!  In fact God wants you to have it all.  It's ok to have both.  It's a sign of God's blessing after all.  You worked hard.  You deserve it.  Just believe the right things and it doesn't matter what you do or how you live.  This of course, is totally antithetical to Scripture and once again if it was a snake it would've bit me.

I write these things not in a spirit of condemnation but of personal conviction and repentance.  I confess that for far too long I've looked at the Scriptures and seen only what I wanted to see or what my culture conditioned me to see.  I confess that I have willfully ignored some of the hard sayings of Christ instead resting upon mantras like "faith alone in Christ alone".  I confess that I've treated God's holy Word like a buffet - picking what was expedient for me to obey and discarding the rest.  I confess, that I am the chief of sinners.  Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me a sinner.