Dale Cresap's blog

The biblical emphasis on salvation by faith alone is very strong, yet it also says that faith without works is dead. If you are trying to decide who shall ascend into heaven and who shall descend into hell, then you have some difficult choices to make, but this is not your job. Stepping back into the here and now and looking around, what do you see? Do you see everyone who makes a profession of faith walking in the fullness of life and love?  How would you describe the people whom you consider to be the most spiritually mature? Do they see their lives as transformative journeys?

Do you believe in the idea of holy ground? Most believers would consider church property to be in this category, but it is not the property or even the structures on it that would make it holy but the people who meet there. I instructed my people to build structures for worship and I met them there, but these were temporary measures. I demonstrated my true intent when I poured out my spirit on all flesh. My Kingdom is within you and the Comforter I sent indwells you. So perhaps there is holy ground.

How do you approach the world? With fear and suspicion? Or with openness and trust? You have learned by experience that trust can be misplaced. So does that make the first alternative preferable? Statisticians recognize two types of errors, named type 1 and type 2, which could be considered false positives and false negatives. You can see the problems with trusting too much and too early. Are you equally aware of the problems of trusting too little and too late? Is your current level of openness to trust enhancing or diminishing your life?

Do you see corporate logos as the icons of the modern age? Companies take their symbols seriously and spend millions to promote and defend them. Do you see the cross as the ‘corporate logo’ of the church? This symbol is universally associated with the Christian faith. Does it seem like an odd choice that no one else would choose; an instrument of cruel death? Yet my call to everyone who would follow me is to lay down their life and pick up their cross. You see the symbol of the cross everywhere the gospel message is proclaimed. Do you see as much visible evidence of believers embracing it?

Do you live in a consumer culture? This is based on the premise that more and newer and better stuff will give you a better life and make you happy. This is another name for materialism. Have you found this to be true? The fact that this outcome is elusive serves to keep the customers in the game and coming back. But there are benefits from this system as well – an unprecedented level of prosperity and abundance of resources for multitudes of people. You are one of those people. Can you partake of the benefits of the consumer culture and at the same time reject the values it represents?

Do you come into frequent contact with bureaucrats or other people who serve in menial functional tasks? Has this ever been an unpleasant experience for you? Is it easy to criticize them or the system they are involved in? Don’t forget that they are first of all people, who are created in my image just as you are. This modern world has produced some jobs that are dehumanizing, but they are still performed by humans. Look beyond the functional exchange and learn to see these interactions as encounters.

Do you see sin in yourself? Is it easier to see it in others? Sin is something that everyone can see, but generally by looking outside themselves and their group. Republicans can see it in Democrats and Democrats can see it in Republicans. The rich can see it in the poor and the poor can see it in the rich. You can repent for your own sins and even for those of groups you identify with but you can only offer judgment and condemnation for those whom you consider entirely different from you.

Have you been to college? Higher education is expensive, and not everyone can afford it. Yet everyone has experiences in life that can serve as learning opportunities. Everyone at some point makes bad choices. This has been called the ‘school of hard knocks’ and you don’t need a trust fund to be able to pay the tuition, but if you look at the costs of bad decisions you realize that this education comes at a very high price. Do you maximize the potential of these occasions as learning opportunities? They will come and you will pay the price whether you do or not.

Do you experience miracles in your life? What is your criterion for considering something a miracle? By one narrow definition the only things that qualify are those that defy logical explanation. Have you ever experienced the convergence of independent unlikely events that all worked together in your favor? This may not qualify as a miracle by the narrowest definitions, but it can if you can accept an argument based on probability, which you do routinely in other areas of your life. If you suspect that I am intervening in your life on your behalf you are right.

Do you live in a Christian nation? That concept invites some questions about just what that means. The Christian faith was understood to be outside of both the political and theological power structures when it was founded, and those who embraced this way knew that they were not of this world. The commandment to come out from among them and be separate was meant for my followers for all generations. How can you come out from them if you are of them? How can you be a peculiar people and strangers and sojourners in this world from the position of the majority?