Friday 10-11-2017 - 15:20

Being asked to write a brief article on the basics of the Christian faith feels a little bit like writing a postcard in the middle of the most exciting holiday. So much to say, so little space to say it in. And where do you possibly start? 

It’s interfaith week, so ‘faith’ itself seems like a pretty good starting point. For many, faith is simply the belief in the existence of a God, or perhaps the opposite. But if all I do as a Christian is simply believe in God, what difference does that really make to my life? Author Brennan Manning explained it like this: 

‘The difference between faith as “belief in something that may or may not exist” and faith as “trusting in God” is enormous. The first is a matter of the head, the second a matter of the heart. The first can leave us unchanged, the second intrinsically brings change’ 

Honestly, I’m a control-freak. I love being independent. That way, no-one can let you down and you get that great feeling when you complete a challenge all by yourself. So, being a Christian and ‘trusting in God’, rather than in myself, does not come naturally to me. It goes against my every instinct to give over control. And why trust in a God I can’t see when the even the people I love most in the world find a way to disappoint me? But bigger than my desire to be in control, is my desire to be free. And freedom is the only way I can describe how it feels when you let God have control. And letting the God of love be in control is how I would sum up what it means to be a Christian.  

It sounds paradoxical I know – how can you feel free when you’re under the control of someone else? I guess the only answer I have for that is that God is the only being you can trust more than yourself. Even you can let yourself down. But God, having created us and knowing our every need, can’t. He is constant. The bible talks of him being eternal and never-changing. And that brings me such a peace in the middle of a world where fashion, opinion, relationships and pretty much everything else can change in an instant.  

 

A few weeks ago, the Christian Union asked people around campus: ‘What is freedom?’ My favourite answer was: ‘to be able to walk around without being scared’. (‘Bob Marley’ was probably my second favourite.) Living knowing that God’s love for me doesn’t depend on what I do but what Jesus did for me on the cross means just that – that I can walk around without being scared. Of course, worldly dangers still exist and affect me, but I can be reassured even in the middle of struggling that God has a bigger plan and eternal future lined up for me. The idea of being a Christian may simply scream ‘thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery…thou shalt not…’ to you and therefore feel like being offered a life in a straightjacket. But to me freedom is trusting that the God who made me, and knows how my life is going to pan out, knows what is best for me. As it says in the bible, he wants me to ‘have life and have it to the full’ (John 10:10). 

New York Times bestseller, Timothy Keller, describes freedom in God this way: 

 

‘Disciplines and constraints, then, liberate us only when they fit with the reality of our nature and capacities. A fish, because it absorbs oxygen from water rather than air, is only free if it is restricted and limited to water’ 

 

So if faith is trusting in God and trusting in God is freedom, it seems logical to end with what I think freedom really means. And I would argue that the best word to sum that up is grace.  

I believe that I am free, not because I try to live according to what the bible says, not because I have good morals and certainly not because I think I deserve it. I believe I am free because of Jesus. I’ve messed up and, no offence, so have you. Naturally that should mean that we are cut off from God. How can something impure (us) be in relationship with the perfectly spotless (God)? And yet, God loved me and you so much that He sent Jesus to pay the price of every time we have ever messed up and every time we ever will. No questions asked, no interest fees, no terms and conditions. We simply have faith in Him and ask for His forgiveness and we can walk in freedom.  

Brennan Manning (can you tell I think he’s a great writer?) sums it up much more eloquently: 

‘This is the God of the gospel of grace. A God, who out of love for us, sent the only Son he ever had wrapped in our skin. He learned how to walk, stumbled and fell, cried for his milk, sweated blood in the night, was lashed with a whip and showered with spit, was fixed to a cross and died whispering forgiveness on us all’ 

I have in no way fully explained the Christian faith. I’m not even convinced I’ve touched the surface. But if you take anything from this, let it be that God has freedom, grace and love for you.  

If you have any questions or simply want to share with us your opinion (however opposing that might be!) please email us at manmetcu@gmail.com or message us on Facebook (Man Met Christian Union).