Dale Cresap's blog

Do you think hope and optimism are the same thing? Optimists can be wrong. Is hope wishful thinking, or is there real substance to it? The Bible refers to faith as the substance of things hoped for. So in a description of a mystery expressed in lyrical beauty the Bible connects the concepts of faith and hope with substance. And so the transcendent realm makes contact with the world of physical reality. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but you need a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

Do you find that you are meeting more atheists these days? Does it look like a trend? Do you read books on apologetics and find them to be convincing? Atheists read books by atheist authors and find them to be convincing. You probably aren’t interested in reading their books, but they aren’t interested in reading yours either. Both sides go where they get reassurance. But your atheist friends will read you. Is your life an open book? Paul spoke of people in his care saying they were an epistle, known and read by all men.

An old philosopher said, I think, therefore I am. He derived his identity from his thoughts. Do you? Do you think you are the sum of your thoughts? Yet do you have perfect control over your thoughts? Do you ever have thoughts that are unwelcome and seem to be intruders? The Bible tells you to take every thought captive, and this implies that your thoughts are not the essence of your being. Do you find this difficult to do?

Do you walk in the darkness or in the light? This is an important distinction and all believers would claim to walk in the light. What does this mean? Are you aware that you live a charmed life in an enchanted world? You may see this as connected to your belief, but I send sun and rain on the just and on the wicked alike, and open my hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. You have insight and awareness that you live in a benevolent world. Everyone lives in the same world but not everyone can see this reality even though they receive the blessings.

Do you share your faith in fulfillment of the Great Commission? Are you a recruiting agent for your church? Do you see these as separate activities? Even if you do, those to whom you proclaim the gospel message may not. Would you consider your efforts to be successful if you see people entering the Kingdom of God even if they don’t go to your church? What is the bare essence of your faith that is the logical starting point for sharing the good news of the gospel?

Do you think that I am good at everything? What about marketing? I referred to my followers as sheep. I said that my sheep hear my voice, and told Peter to feed my sheep, and you want to be a sheep in the story of the sheep and the goats. But being referred to as a sheep is not considered a compliment in any other context. In fact it is an insult, implying that one lacks resolve and fortitude. Would any marketing firm have recommended a sheep as a promotional image or logo? How do you reconcile these images? Do you still want to be my follower if it means identifying as a sheep?

Do you find answers to all your problems? Some problems are small and have clear answers. If you lose your car keys you keep looking until you find them. Some problems are large and don’t have easy answers, such as navigating relationships and finding direction in life. Some problems don’t really have solutions in the conventional sense, but by your own continued development you may outgrow them. Have you ever experienced this yourself? Have you had a problem that became unimportant to you even though it didn’t go away?

Do you expect to go to heaven? What do you expect to find when you get there? Gold and precious stones? You don’t get to visit in advance like a real estate open house, and the Bible gives a limited amount of details, but gold and precious stones are mentioned. These are highly prized and sought after on earth. Is the desire for these things the motivation to seek the Kingdom of God? Would you expect to find anything else there that is even more valuable? In that day you will see me as I am, and know as you are known.

Are you familiar with the story of me wrestling with Jacob? Do you remember what time of day it happened? It was at night. Do you think this is a significant detail? It is because I wanted to break off the engagement before dawn. So he was wrestling with me in the dark. This is pertinent because those who wrestle with me do so in the dark. Do those who struggle with the difficult questions of being describe this as wrestling with me? But that is exactly what is happening, and it works better if they are ‘in the dark’ about it.

Do you have a favorite sport? Football? Soccer? Baseball? Basketball? I do. Mine is wrestling. You may recall that I wrestled with Jacob. Job wrestled with me as well, even though that term was not used, that was the activity taking place. You can extend this concept to see the same action in principle with Peter, and Paul, and John the Baptist, and others. Can you see that struggling with me is more common than not in those who press onward toward the mark of the high calling I offer them? Have you ever wrestled with me and found it to be a beneficial experience?