Dale Cresap's blog

Do you find it easy to judge people by their appearance? Are you quick to form judgments about people you encounter that you have never met before? But what can you know on the basis of a first glance? The only things you can really know are those things that are inherent in every person. They are made in my image. They have an inner longing to find their identity, to find authenticity and self-transcendence. They want to belong, and to have a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives.

Do you hire skilled workers to do things for you that you don’t have the skills to do yourself? This could include anything from mechanics to construction workers to medical practitioners. Do you support your pastor? Do you see this the same way, hiring an expert to do something for you that you aren’t able to do for yourself? They watch for your souls, but this is not an appropriate metaphor. You should pay your pastor, but not to hire him to be spiritual in your stead. No one else can live your spiritual life for you, including your pastor. That is your privilege alone to fulfill.

Have you ever heard anyone say, I will only trust in God and believe in God; I will never trust or believe in people? Does this sound more righteous, or self-righteous, or bitter to you? There is a sense in which it is appropriate to trust and believe in me alone; people will disappoint you. Yet you cannot fulfill my destiny for you if you remain in suspicious isolation. You cannot form the human connections you need to be a part of my body or to engage in a cause greater than yourself if you refuse to trust people. You are well aware of the risks of believing in and trusting people.

Do you appreciate and follow a path of rigor in intellectual things? This would include rules for evidence, unbiased and free investigation, and letting conclusions flow from facts and reasoning rather than starting from conclusions and trying to force fit facts. Do you follow a path of rigor in spiritual things? This would include the same rules listed above if you are to live a reasonable faith. Does it include anything else? The conclusions you reach in your spiritual search have implications for the way you should live your life.

You describe your faith in me as a relationship, and you are right, but you are involved in many relationships, and each has its own character and depth. Some are just relationships in passing, such as for a single commercial transaction. Others revolve around a common interest or activity, such as hobbies or ideological persuasions. Relationships require some common ground, but they can still be fleeting and superficial. Do you think of your relationship with me as the one with the most depth of meaning and purpose? Do you values these same qualities in your relationships with people?

Who can you redeem? You may say that the technical answer is no one, since I am the redeemer. Yet have you heard stories of those whose lives have been turned around and transformed because someone else could see in them a future they could not see for  themselves and believed in them enough to affirm them in it? This requires love and discernment and a willingness to invest in someone else. Do you have what it takes? If discernment is the only thing you are lacking I can supply that. You are doing my work if you further my redemptive purpose in other people. Who can you redeem?

Have you ever heard of someone referred to as an opportunist? This term is typically not intended as a compliment, but shouldn’t you admire those who are pro-active, taking risks and seizing opportunities? The term is more commonly used in contrast to those who hold values and act according to principles. But does one contradict the other? You can do both. You can respond to opportunities as they arise and still act in accordance with your principles. In fact, doing so can be one of your principles.

Do you think that those who are breathing are alive, and those who do not are not? Yet my word speaks of those who are dead in sin, or dead even while they live. Haven’t you encountered people who function in such a way that they seem dead inside? Life is found in connections and relationships. So do you find that those who are alienated and isolated seem in some sense to be lifeless? Let us be more hopeful and look at the other end of the spectrum. I promised my followers an abundant life. Do you see the connection between this and the promise for a multitude of brothers and sisters?

Do you keep up with current events? You have a greater abundance of information available to you than ever before, but it still takes time and effort to stay informed of the latest news stories. Do you keep up with timeless, enduring truth? This also requires time and effort and takes a lifetime of searching, but there is one advantage to this investigation as opposed to keeping up with the news. Things that are considered to be of great importance in media coverage today quickly fade into insignificance, but timeless truth endures so significance does not diminish. It is always true.

How receptive are the people you meet to the gospel message? It is not a difficult concept. Do you find that people respond to a simple explanation? How many times were you exposed to the gospel message before you responded to it? Have you found this to be the experience of your believing friends as well? Things of the spirit are spiritually discerned. They are incomprehensible to the unenlightened. I have given you my Great Commission to declare my message to every creature, for that is your part, and I am pleased when you do.