I am glad to be sharing a new entry today. This entry comes from a friend of mine who recently shared his heart with me on life issues. I couldn't wait to share this with you, when I was given permission to publish it. This is His story...His Life Chronicle.
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November 2012. After 20 years of a life filled with hardships, addictions and idols, I gave my life to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
What I did next was something I, in hindsight, don't
recommend anybody doing; I started listening to Christians.
This, of course, depends on your definition of Christians. I
mean the Christians that haven't let the Spirit out of their boxes. Christians
that complacently depend on one ordained man's interpretations and opinions and
have forgotten the sound of their own voice. Christians that seem to have put
the New Covenant in a torn-down, worn out, reeking of Old Covenant,
uncomfortable jacket.
The mentors and friends who truly help us grow in life often
are the ones you wouldn't call your typical Christian. Some haven't even
accepted the existence of God, but the love they have with which they radiate
their neighborhood could even make you thing they have a much better idea about
God's heart than the ordained, full-time minister.
I pretty much surrounded myself with Christian music,
teachings and sermons. You could argue that I wasn't doing that bad, because at
least I believed in the miracles and the trinity and read my Bible.
Little did I know, the enemy can turn all these things
around for evil;
Not seeing a person, but a problem. Not valuing the
individual, but putting his/her sin higher. Flinging Scriptures, instead of
just having a talk.
Again, some would argue that I wasn't doing so bad. But I
had turned religious. I became what I surrounded myself with. I took my current
understandings of Scripture and placed them above anything else; above
relationship, above the Spirit, above love.
I had gotten sick of it. After a while, it no longer felt
right trying to avoid my neighbor who was living in sin. But, that was what I
knew. That was my grid of the Christian lifestyle. I was getting behind on
several Bible plans and I didn't really mind that. If I hadn’t been prayed over
and seen some immediate result, I would have turned away from God. I would have
thrown in the towel. This didn’t seem like Good News to me at all. Where was
the ‘life’ in it? I only saw division and then some more between ‘us
Christians’. I felt prohibited to talk to my neighbor, regardless of what he
had done or was planning to do.
This is what happens to a lot of people. They convert
because they’ve heard about this amazing Person, the Son of an amazing God. But
when they reach out for His hand, something changes. Something shifts. The
people who talked about and introduced you to their loving God are now the same
people that are confusing you with verses that you’re not yet equipped to
understand. . You better not question any of their practices or suggest
improvements, because “you’re young in the Lord”. You’ll feel this burning
desire to go out and do the stuff the first-century disciples did. You want to
go out and be like Jesus.
Just Dad
Then, Jesus happened.
Like I was sitting in a dark, dusty bar that hadn't been
properly ventilated before, somebody swung the door right open and new, fresh,
exciting air came rushing in and filled the entire room. Some couldn't handle
it. They had gotten so used to the smokey, badly lit room that they grew
fearful of this new breath and they left the room altogether. Who knows, they
might have found a new hole where they only serve the same, old, bitter drink
and have grown comfortable there.
I hope to meet you again, brother. I hope to offer you a
drink on the house soon, sister.
When I breathed this vital air and let it fill my lungs, i
have to say that I was surprised that I didn't find myself running on
autopilot. I didn't become a puppet in my Father's hands. Instead of taking
hold of both reins, like I had expected He'd do, He handed both to me. He
wasn't steering the horse. Instead, He sat next to me and throughout the whole
ride, He's been whispering "Don't worry, just drive. Don't be afraid to
ask for My help, precious son of Mine. Daddy's got your back.".
Where I thought giving my life would mean eternal, robotic
submission, being an errand boy for a busy God, I found that giving my life
resulted in being given it back, only more vibrant and radiating with His love
and kindness.
This God, Who had always seemed so mystical and dormant,
wasn't some abstract, vague concept anymore. Saying that He revealed Himself as
my Father then and there would do Him injustice, because I believe my Dad had
been trying to do just that ever since I was born. I saw that He was my Dad.
Not Dr. or Mr. God with whom i had to schedule time with nor a Mr. God who was
only pleased with me after I had worked through my long, endless list of
chores. He was Dad. Just Dad.
Written By: Elias Schroons
Written By: Elias Schroons
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I pray this entry has blessed you all, and given you a glimpse inside of the heart of the Father. If you would like to get a hold of Elias or keep up with what he is doing you can find him at: http://asonswalk.com
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