Defending God

Why do I try so hard sometimes to convince people of what I believe? God is certainly able to defend Himself, if He is who I think He is.

And, in fact, He didn't even always try to do so...

• In John 6, Jesus gives a teaching that His disciples find a little hard to swallow. When some of the disciples left Him, He did not run after them or beg the rest to stay. Instead, He turned to those that remained and asked, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" (John 6: 67). 
• In Luke 15, Jesus tells the famous parable of the prodigal son. When they tell this story, most people focus on how the father, who represents God, welcomes back his long-lost son with open arms. Not many people pay attention to the beginning, when the son asks his father for his inheritance early--basically saying that all he wanted from his father was his money, and that he wished his father were dead--and the father freely gives it to him and lets his son go. Although he wishes his son would stay--as evidenced by the welcome he gives upon his return--he lets him go. 
• When Jesus was on trial, before His death, He made no effort to defend Himself (Matthew 26:57-68, 27:11-26, Mark 14:53-65, 15:1-15, Luke 22:66-23:25, John 18:28-40, 19:1-16). 

So should I be more worried about it than He Himself?

It seems God would rather have a smaller group of followers, who were following Him wholeheartedly, than a large group.

"I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelations 3:15-16)

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples." (Luke 14:28-33)

A while ago, I wrote about how I read a passage that spoke to right where I was mentally at the time. The passage was 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16, and it was about Paul's approach to evangelism.  

The idea in that passage is about how Paul did not try to wow people with his words or wisdom, but simply let God's power speak for itself.

"And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

This is one of the things I've actually really appreciated about the Alpha course. It was my first time being involved with it, so I was really surprised when we watched the training videos and they told us to avoid answering questions, but to let the discussion go where it may, trusting the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself. In practice, of course, this is quite difficult, especially when the group is small and it's just not practical to leave all the talking to one or two people. Plus, for those of you who know me at all, you know that I am not shy about sharing my opinions.

But it is also an incredibly big relief. If Christianity is true, it is of infinite importance. And here I am, surrounded by people I care about who either think it's all crock, or who are asking incredibly hard questions, embedded deep in a culture where it's somewhat rude to speak openly about religion. But at the end of the day, it is God who calls, God who reveals, God who changes people's hearts. And each person chooses whether to answer the call, see what is revealed, and be changed.

My job is only to be a witness of what God has done for me.