Dale Cresap's blog

Do you remember the story of the lost sheep? The good shepherd left ninety-nine to search for one. What do you conclude from this? If you think of yourself as that one lost sheep are you grateful for the effort? Are you daunted by the Great Commission? Do you think it will be carried out by mass crusades in stadiums? Ask your believing friends what was effective in reaching them. Does the task seem impossible if it has to be carried out one at a time? Faith can’t be mass-produced. I have already given you a powerful lesson in the value of one. Go forth and do it.

Are you familiar with the concept of sacrifice? It is an element of every faith tradition and understood even in the secular world. It involves the voluntary giving up of something of value. What does it mean to you as a Christian? Do you think of it as a means of buying favor with me? What do you have that I need? Could it be that sacrifice is for your benefit rather than mine? What would it do for you? Have you ever found that the things you value have a claim on you? Have you ever felt a sense of release and freedom from letting go of something you valued?

Do you believe experience matters? Employers think so. Is there any area of human endeavor that isn’t improved by effort in time and practice? What about your spiritual life? Have you improved in maturity since you first believed? You have promises about seeking and finding, and walking on the strait and narrow way that leads to life. Yet I also said that if you did not become as a little child you would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you see these concepts as being contradictory?

You live in a literate culture and this has many advantages. Are there any disadvantages? Do you accept the premise that everything can be expressed in words, or is there truth that cannot be articulated? My word teaches you that the Spirit intercedes for you with groaning that cannot be uttered, and Paul saw things in heaven that were not lawful, or possible, to speak. Have words ever failed you? You crave meaning. Are there things that are deeply satisfying because they are meaningful that you cannot explain?

Do you know that questions come in all sizes? There are small questions about current events and immediate concerns, such as lost items, and matters of no consequence. Have you found that you can usually get answers for these? Have you found that there are also big questions with eternal significance concerning things that endure? These are questions you can wrestle with even if you have accepted a version of ultimate reality. Don’t abandon these big questions even if you can’t resolve them.

Do you have a longing to belong? This is inherent in the human experience because I put it there. Have you found that you have to be selective in your associations? Have you ever joined a club or other organization and found that the demand for conformity was greater than the resulting sense of belonging? Have you found that even churches, or especially churches, impose severe demands as the price of belonging, even if the requirements are unspoken? Not every church is for you.

How good is your eyesight? Do you ever have to look at something a second time to get a clear picture of it? Another look may reveal things you didn’t see at first glance, and this is a principle that can be applied broadly. Is your first response to the things you encounter centered around yourself, how it affects you personally, how you benefit from or lose from it? This is a narrow field of vision. Can you look again without yourself at the center and see how it affects others, where there are effects and opportunities for the whole community, or for redemptive purpose?

Everyone suffers wounds in the course of life, and not all are physical injuries. How do you handle yours? You have seen people defeated and embittered by the things they have suffered. Yet have you also seen people ennobled by their wounds? Do you know of anyone of noble character that hasn’t suffered to get there? So your response to your wounds makes a difference in the way they affect you. It is not too much to say that they can become sacred wounds. What effect do your wounds have on you? Do you have access to and apply a means for turning ordinary wounds into sacred wounds?

Have you ever gone for a walk to clear your mind or to ponder a question? Do you recall how much of my instruction was given to my disciples while we were on the way, walking from one place to another? You may not have to walk to get to your destination, but have you ever found the practice to be beneficial? Have you found that motion facilitates spiritual insight more than sitting still? If it doesn’t, you are free to do whatever works for you, but it is beneficial for you to be sufficiently aware that you follow your own best practice.

Do you associate with sinners? You could argue this point both ways from scriptures, and many positions in between. Come out from among them and be ye separate. But you are also to let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify me. Paul taught to make a distinction between those who identified as believers and those who did not. So is there a tension between maintaining purity in association and coming into contact with those who need the message you have? What example do you see in my life? Did I avoid contact with outsiders?