Cookier Cutter God? No thank you.

I know a lot of Christians, and I know a lot of non-Christians. The Christians that I know can be broken down further into sub-groups, like those that go to church on Sunday, but live pretty much without God during their work week. There are the Christians that don't go to a church, but know a lot about Biblical stuff, but maybe don't think it's absolutely required for everyday life. There are also simple Christians, which are the sort that I enjoy hanging around with, who look to the Bible nearly every single day for guidance and directions on how to live their moment-to-moment life. These Christians belong to my church, and they are striving to make Christ number ONE, truly, in everything- to the point where they will tithe before they pay a bill. To the point where they will trust the prayers and faith of their fellow Christian church family members over the skill of a surgeon.

Ok, that sounds really hokey to a lot of you. I'm not saying that instead of surgery, someone would just have the church pray over them. No. You have the prayer, and you have the surgery, and when the doctors come out of that surgery puzzled, because the thing they went in to fix was...already fixed, well, there you go.

I want to be as simple a Christian as possible. Not simple-minded, but simple in Faith. I want to live my life as closely as possible to the life that Jesus lead. I want to be like the early church- gathering together, taking care of each other, worshipping, learning, growing the Kingdom of God so that when the tough times come, people will look to us and see, yes, God is real, and He is here, represented by His people.

Representing God isn't easy. First of all, you have to love like God. He left heaven, came to earth, suffered, and then died a horrible death, all for a bunch of selfish, single-minded folks...well, us. He loved us even though we spit on Him.

Another tough thing about representing God is this: Even though we may feel differently, we need to agree with His goodness. Even if it feels wrong to us. We must hold on to integrity with both hands, and not let our faulty feelings sway us. Lose friends. Lose family. Ouch. But look at all the people God is losing! He cannot change who he is- and why would you want Him to? When you build your home, you don't build it on a fault line. You don't build it on soggy sand that will move and shift. You build it on an immovable surface. Immovable!! The same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. That is God.

If you believe in God, but falter when it comes to who He is- what God are you believing in? One that you crafted yourself? That agrees with you in all things? What are the chances that God is real? We cannot mold God into who we want Him to be, because He is, and that is that.

That is a very difficult way to live. To love a God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul - a God that deserves that kind of love, no doubt- wow, that is hard. It's easy sometimes, but other times...When I feel like God is being mean. Is God really being mean? Or am I just misunderstanding his goodness, his holiness? Yeah. That's what's going on. No doubt.

The bottom line is, I believe in the God of the Bible. The God of Israel, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. The One and Only God. I believe in Him, as He is, not as how I want Him to be. If you think that makes me naive or less intelligent than you, well, fine. I suppose I can be seen as an idiot for God. It's hard to KNOW that something is TRUE, yet all the proof you have is your life. I suppose that is why I am diving further and further into my Faith- becoming only Sara the Christian. When the people that know me...see me again, well, what will they see? I hope and pray they see the Truth- the True God, True Salvation, and True Life, all within me and working in this world. Please, let them see that!!

I am the Lord's Servant. Let it be to me as the Lord wills.