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The Good Life

Why I Follow Christ

My sophomore year of college I experienced the biggest crisis of faith I had gone through up to that point. I just wasn't sure that Christianity was all I had believed it was when I was a child. Walking through that valley, I wondered at times if I would come out of it with my faith intact.

I don't remember reading my Bible regularly in those days, but somehow, one afternoon I wound up in John 6. I could totally relate, because Jesus was dishing out some hard teachings and some of His followers just quit following. Then came the turning point: Jesus asked His 12 closest friends if they wanted to turn away as well. Peter answered His question with another question: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69, NIV ).

There it was. No matter how much I wanted to quit following Jesus, I couldn't. Because I knew Him and that no one else could ever offer the life that lives in Him.

I need to tell that story to explain that I am not a Christian because of the perks. I'm a Christian because I know who Christ is, and I know I can't live without Him. On the other hand, I've since discovered that there is a certain quality of life in Christianity that can't be found anywhere else. Jesus called it "abundant life."¹ Many in our culture would like to paint Christianity as unrealistic, rule-bound, stuffy, unintelligent and boring. But my experience — along with the experience of generations of other Christians — says otherwise.

Try it. It's Good for You!

The full life offered through Christ wasn't invented by human architects of religion and tradition. It exists because of the God we worship. Everything hangs on Him and His character, so it matters deeply that we daily press into Him and find life through knowing Him better. When we do that, the life we discover is amazing.

If this is true, why is it that so few people — especially those who don't embrace Christ — have the impression that following Christ means living a second-rate life? One reason is that they get hung up on the rules and they miss the rest of the picture. But God's law isn't antithetical to abundant life. The two fit together perfectly.

If you ever sat through a faith-based abstinence education program, you probably heard the argument that God didn't make up a bunch of rules just to spoil our fun. Instead, He gave us commands that are for our own good. And though the argument is kind of elementary, you have to admit that no unplanned pregnancies + no STDs + less baggage when you get married = good.

It doesn't just apply to sex. When we follow God's rules for relationships, there is a fullness in them that doesn't exist anywhere else. And full relationships mean a full and satisfying life.

Don't believe me? Try incorporating just one of God's principles into your relationships: honesty.² That means gently confronting others when they hurt you. It means resolving conflict.³ It means not telling "little white lies" because you think you're protecting someone. Can that habit shake up the way you interact with friends, family and significant others? You bet. It means learning tact and starting some conversations that are difficult to start. But it also means tearing down walls and healing old hurts. I am just beginning to learn what it means to live like that, and I've never had a greater sense of excitement, freedom and possibility in my relationships. And honesty is just one thing God asks of us. Try adding commitment, faithfulness, purity, generosity, prayer and encouragement to your relational priorities and things get better still.

No Slackers Allowed

Another beef that non-believers or nominal believers often have against Christianity is that following Christ seems to mean having a small, boring mind. Not so. Christian thinker C.S. Lewis handles this one better than anyone else I know⁴, so I'll let him expound:

God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But fortunately, it works the other way round. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened …⁵

This has certainly been my experience as a Christian, and it's one of the reasons I think following Christ is the good life. God is truth, and truth is intellectually challenging. So seeking God also drives me to examine myself, my assumptions and the world around me, seeking truth about how things are and how they ought to be. The dynamic life of the Christian mind means we don't need to fear reality, ignore it or explain it away. If Christianity is for real, then it fits hand-in-glove with good science, good philosophy, good psychology, good pedagogy and good art; and we are free to run wild discovering truth in these areas.

While I believe this deeply, I have to admit that I don't always see it lived out around me. For some reason, the Church is not known for its rigorous thinking. Many Christians, if accused of having an abundant intellectual life, wouldn't be able to produce enough evidence to get convicted. This is not the fault of Christ, but of Christians who don't take Him and His claims seriously.

When Jesus reiterates the importance of loving God with everything we've got, He specifically admonishes us to "love the Lord your God with all your mind."⁶ That's not to say that one must be an intellectual giant to be a Christian. The paradox of truth is that it seems to grow deeper as we grow into it. As one of my favorite bands, Caedmon's Call, puts it, "The truth is a river where the strong can swim down deep, and the weak and the broken can walk across so easily."⁷

As soon as we start down the road with Jesus, the abundant intellectual life is there for the taking. We're cheating ourselves — and the world — if we don't reach out and grab it.

Imagine the Possibilities

In Ephesians 3:20, Paul says God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." I think that inherent in that description is a challenge to us: Ask! Imagine! We have a God who can go far beyond anything we can dream up. I don't know about you, but my imagination is pretty colorful. Still, when I failed my English CLEP test* and had to take freshman comp, there was no way I imagined what God had up His gigantic sleeve. It turns out He was simply starting me on a journey that would end with me writing professionally. (It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell it sometime.) And that story is just the beginning. The Christian life is one full of imagination and possibility. That's because we have a God who dreams bigger than we do.⁸

The flip side of this is that, if our lives are boring, it's possible that we're just not asking. Or imagining. Yes, I know that God allows us to go through dry times when it doesn't seem that much is happening. But a persistent experience of Christianity as boring and predictable may not be an indictment of the God we follow so much as it is a challenge to the way we follow Him.

A High-Risk Lifestyle

Since we're talking about living a full, abundant life and avoiding boredom, I want to mention one thing I find essential for staying un-bored: the occasional adrenaline rush. Roller coasters? I love 'em. High mountains? I prefer to climb them by a route that is steep and slightly precarious, rather than taking the wide path of endless switchbacks. Sky-diving? I haven't tried it yet, but since my husband is a big fan, I probably will at some point. I don't take dumb risks, but I do love a challenge that is a bit dangerous and a little beyond my control.

It's funny: One of the main things that holds people back from committing to Christ is a reluctance to give up control. They want to safely and predictably hold on to the reigns of their own lives. But then these same people will complain that Christianity is stuffy, stilted and tedious. (It's even worse for people who claim to follow Christ, but refuse to give full control to Him. Fences are really uncomfortable, and generally boring, to sit on.)

Committing your life to Jesus and really surrendering to Him is a guarantee that boredom, if it comes, won't last for long. Giving God carte blanche authority in our lives feels risky, because it means we're no longer in control. But once we take that leap, He uses circumstances, geography, calling, relationships, opportunities — even pain — to grow us and move us, and most importantly to glorify Himself. In my experience, this almost always involves the unexpected. It is often exciting. It is not always fun. But then, neither is mountain climbing, or any number of other things I deliberately do for adventure.

C O F F E E  S H O P

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Is Christianity boring or does life with Jesus have a lot to offer?

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The answer, then, to a Christianity that is boring and stifling is to stop trying to have it both ways. Hand the joystick to God and let Him control the game. When you doubt whether this is the right thing to be doing, remember that you don't find adventure in any other area of life by staying safe and in control. Why should your spiritual life be any different?