Lost in Translation

Take it from a guy who has been married for ten years, works in close quarters with a handful of diverse personalities and has had friendships rocked by divorces and pride fueled disagreements, communication is an amazingly complex entity that can exude life, growth and camaraderie one moment and then miserable misunderstanding the next.

It is often messy, uncomfortable and misconstrued, however, judging by the current popularity of social networking sites, cell phones and text messaging, communication is also a highly sought after and valued thing.

Now when it comes to communication, I truly believe that those who put their trust in Jesus have the greatest message of hope, redemption, forgiveness and love. We are in fact, (frighteningly) Gods primarily messengers to the rest of a weary and broken world that longs for good news. Our every action, word and even our subtle body language continually sends a message to those around us of who God is and what He looks like.

So what message are we presenting? Hopefully it is one of redemption, grace and, to borrow from Brennan Manning, the “furious love of God”. Sadly, however this great message is often lost in translation.

Case in point was a pastor I recently witnessed leading new “converts” in a prayer to “accept Christ into their lives”. To those uninitiated with church life and lingo, think of it as a swearing in ceremony in which people are “sworn into” the faith. Perplexingly as it may seem being that it is such a monumental spiritual moment, it is rarely scripted or rehearsed by preachers who are apparently more focused on brushing up on the impeccable timing of their one-liners. Which may excuse this particular preacher for exhorting “newbies” to pray to God imploring Him “to forgive them for the way they have been living their lives thus far”.

Sounds pretty harmless right?

Except when you consider that such an unclear and seemingly vague statement forces people to draw their own conclusions as to what they are really being told. Which may be where all the confusion about superficial lifestyle changes like being a person of a particular moral code while avoiding the dangers of “sex, drugs and Rock n’ Roll” is birthed. What we are left with is churches full of people who are not exactly sure what their salvation really means in relation to their lives.

Despite what we might interpret the message to say, the fact is that initially putting ones faith in God has little, perhaps even nothing to do with the life someone has lived or the things they have done. I know some of the most loving and kind people who do not consider themselves Christians, while on the other hand I have been acquainted with some of the filthiest and rotten people who call themselves Christians. The way in which someone lives his or her life is not always an accurate indicator of ones salvation.

And not to pick on this poor pastor alone, because we send similar messages to the world around us when our salvation story consists of what amounts to merrily outward “surface cleaning” (“I used to smoke, drink and cuss but then I found Jesus and now my life is completely different”). The bumper sticker that reads “Born fine the first time” is the world’s jab in response to such shallow testimonies that drip with the underlying message that “life is better here”. On the contrary, life usually gets more difficult (which was what Jesus warned his followers) when one chooses faith.

You see, despite the confusing messages to the contrary, God’s primarily concern is not with the kind of life we lived yesterday. He simply desires to be the center and focus of our lives today and on into our future tomorrows.

Furthermore, asking those who are newly acquainted with God to seek forgiveness for the way they “lived their life” pre-faith sends a dangerous message that the church, and God for that matter, is only concerned with what they do instead of in whom they trust. It causes churchgoers to tiptoe around each other on Sunday mornings concerned and fearful that they will be exposed as a fraud (which, in a way, we all happen to be).

Sadly many people “join” the church, subscribe to the “corporate” brand and immediately begin exhausting themselves by jumping through all the “spiritual” hoops trying to please the others and please God while hoping to quiet the lingering voices spewing words of doubt and guilt. However, despite the commitment, effort, hard work or perseverance we cannot will ourselves to live a better “Christian life”. Such futile striving will only leave us feeling unfulfilled, frustrated and disappointed. We cannot make life, character and moral changes that are deeply ingrained into who we are with “good ole’ fashion” hard work and determination.

All this fruitless striving saddens me because it really is as simple as living in the grace of God and enjoying the spiritual journey without getting caught up in our failures, disappointments and guilt. Unfortunately such messages are a rarity.

Honestly, the most important thing missing from all of our lives is truly knowing and experiencing God, there is no other ingredient required. God, knowing every little nuance, trait, characteristic and aspect of his creation, knows perfectly how to effectively weed out, mold and shape our lives. He is much more patient and long suffering than we could ever hope to be in seeing us unto completion. If there are things in our life that need to be changed or ways of living that need to be tweaked, you can be sure God will inform us of it and will work patiently and with purpose to accomplish it in our life. In this progression our character blossoms to its fullest potential.

The salvation experience is not solely about making people better human beings. But for the grace of God, all of humanity is on a level playing field in such regards. It doesn’t matter what someone’s political affiliation may be, what their sexual orientation is, what religion they subscribe to or anything else, if there be any good deed, word of encouragement or characteristic within them it is simply the illuminating grace of God shining through a putrid soul. And we are all putrid souls, however God can use ANYONE He desires to be a blessing! As Aaron Weiss puts it so simply and yet poignantly in song “It’s (God) in everyone we meet”.

Despite what we would love to believe about ourselves, without God in our lives there really is no good within us, our natural inclinations are selfish and sinful. We should take no pride in our efforts to be “good-people” (our righteousness is like filthy rags after all) but should humbly thank God that He is hard at work patiently perfecting us hardheaded people.

With this in mind, perhaps it is time we reevaluate some of our ideas and perceptions about sin. You see, from the time Moses come down the mountain with those two imposing tablets to today where Sunday school children across the globe are singing, “be careful little eyes what you see” there has always been this underlying belief that God doesn’t want us to have any fun.

One of my favorite writers on faith, Anne Lamott reminds us that we are “punished not for the sin but by the sin.” I believe this is a much healthier way to approach Gods distain for our sins. God wants us to avoid sin, not because He wants to remove all the fun from our lives, but because sin is something that is destructive to a healthy life and healthy relationships. We should desire to live a “better life” not solely because it pleases God or makes Him love us more, but because it is a better way to live and will save us much heartache and pain.

Remember, entrusting God with our lives has nothing to do with pledging our allegiances to the handiwork of man nor does it have anything to do with keeping up our appearances. Salvation is hope that through God’s grace we can overcome yesterday’s struggles. It is hope that beginning immediately God will join us in our battles. It is hope in knowing that life won’t necessarily be easier but we will be guaranteed that we don’t have to go it alone. It is about accepting an offer of “life and life abundantly”.

In a world full of unclear and mixed messages, those of us with the greatest message of hope need to get it right.