Dale Cresap's blog

Have you found that the Christian life involves suffering? Did this come as a surprise? Did you think I promised you a life free from pain? The scripture passages about persecution and chastisement are plain even if they are not your favorites. Would you accuse me of false advertising or bait and switch? Were you fully informed of all the consequences of your decision when you made it? Looking back, would you have been able to comprehend it at the time? Do you have any regrets? Blessed are those who count the cost, and pick up their cross and follow me.

Are you an effective evangelist? You are familiar with the Great Commission. Do you carry it out? How do you go about it? You consider doctrine to be important, so do you start there? Yet instruction typically proceeds from the known to the unknown, and your audience may not be able to relate to your doctrinal positions. Yet I have put a spiritual yearning in the heart of every person, a longing to seek and live in relation to a self-transcendent horizon. You have this in common with every person even if you have nothing else.

Do you want answers for your questions? Have you ever received answers that made things worse instead of better? Do you ever wish that your friends would sit with you and offer you the comfort of their silent presence rather than trying to solve your problems? Do you recall that Job’s friends sat with him a long time before they spoke? Not all questions require immediate answers. Silent presence is better than offering glib and trite platitudes. If you can see this when you are on the receiving end, does it make you hesitate to offer such advice?

Have you experienced the peace that surpasses understanding? The Bible refers to this, so this is a commonly used and understood phrase among believers. You see this peace as divinely provided because it cannot be explained in terms of circumstances, and you are right. Is there anything else that surpasses understanding? Or to reverse the logic of the question, is there any aspect of your life that isn’t touched by divine influence? So do you also have provision that surpasses understanding? Insights that did not originate with you or visible sources? How long would the list be?

Do you know anything without learning it? The assumption is that all knowledge is acquired, but John wrote to his audience and mentioned that they already knew the truth. Do you assume that this only applies to the direct audience of his letter, or since it is included in scripture speaks to all audiences universally, including you? John was a mystic and would be comfortable with the idea of knowing things that you had not learned by conventional means. Are you? I said that I created you in my image. What was imparted to you from the beginning that you didn’t have to go to school for?

Have you ever been involved in a war of nerves? Even without physical violence, threats and oppression and intimidation can cause real hindrance and harm. Have you ever been on the receiving end of this? Have you ever been the oppressor? This can occur between groups of people, and those on the receiving end are more aware than those with the upper hand. How do you defend against such an attack? It will not serve you to fight fire with fire, to attempt manipulation of your own. Stand firm in your own identity and ask of me the peace that surpasses understanding, and you will receive.

Do you think that there is a barrier between heaven and earth? There is, so you cannot wander freely back and forth, but it is a permeable barrier. Have you ever had an encounter with another person in which you sensed a closeness to the eternal and transcendent? Some cultures refer to these as thin places, implying that the barrier between heaven and earth is not opaque but at least translucent if not transparent. Have you ever had an experience when you knew that the light of heaven was shining on you? Would you know if it did? Perhaps it happens more often than you realize.

How flexible are you in the practice of your faith? Is this your highest priority that takes precedence over all your other activities? Could there be anything more important? I told my followers that if they came to give a gift on the altar and remembered that their brother had an issue with them, that they should set their gift aside and go to seek reconciliation with their brother before returning to offer their gift. Have you ever practiced your faith in such a way that inconveniences other people?

Are you ever discouraged by all the problems in the world? All the suffering and oppression and wickedness? Yet this story is not a tragedy. Retain your hope. Realize that the ultimate narrative is one of redemption, for you personally, but for the whole project as well. This is a story that will have a happy ending. Keep this in mind as you face your daily struggles. It will make it easier for you to endure them if you see them as temporary and take a long term view.

I said that my sheep hear my voice. Do you find this comforting? Or are you uncomfortable with the idea of being referred to as a sheep? For outside of the Kingdom of God being compared to a sheep is not considered a compliment. In this context the term implies that one is a mindless follower, with no ability or initiative for independent thought and action. The same concept applies in referring to my followers as children of God for those who have reached adulthood. These are not compliments in the context of the way you relate to other men.