Dale Cresap's blog

Do you identify as an evangelical? This implies that you take the Great Commission seriously, and are willing to work in my fields and vineyards for the harvest. You have a message and a mission, but in another sense you are the message. Will unbelievers be convinced of the validity of your claims if they don’t see something desirable in those who have already responded to the message? And so I have told you to let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify me. Paul described his life as an open book. This applies to yours as well. What does yours say?

Have you ever raised objections? These can happen casually in everyday life and are frequent, but the term has a formal meaning in legal proceedings. If an attorney for one side of a court case doesn’t like something the other side does with respect to process, they can raise and objection and the judge rules sustained or overruled. Have you ever raised objections with me? What if I let someone into the Kingdom of God that you don’t think meets the entrance criteria? Will you raise an objection? What ruling would you expect the judge to give in such a case?

Do you like to read? Do you prefer biographies or novels? Which is the story of your life? Do you know people who live in a fantasy world, full of distortions about their true nature as people, with dreams and goals you know will not be realized, with delusions of heroic grandeur? These people are alienated from their own reality, and the stories of their lives are novels. Living a biography is more difficult. It requires facing your own reality and recognizing your own limitations.

Do you like to travel? Do you go as a tourist or an explorer? It is possible for affluent people to travel as if they never left home. An industry exists to provide familiar comforts in faraway places to those who can afford them, and those who take this approach can go places without ever engaging with the local people or learning about their manners, customs, and way of life. But those who go to explore will find a richer and more rewarding experience. Do you think the people in the places you visit can tell which sort of traveler you are?

What do you expect when you go to church? Being beat up for your sins? Being reminded of how righteous you are and always have been? Hearing those who are outside your group denounced for their unrighteousness? Hearing detailed insights into obscure passages of scripture? Have you experienced any or all of these? Which of these practices do observe in me from the time of my ministry on earth? I spent my time declaring the Kingdom of God with illustrations that were as simple and familiar as they were timeless and profound. In the end I said it was enough.

Do you live in a ghetto? This term has a strong negative connotation of poverty but the actual meaning only describes a neighborhood with a common background or characteristics. The term could be extended to a group of people who join together. If all of your friends are of the same race, income level, educational level, and political ideology, then you are in effect living in a ghetto even if they are educated and well-off. In a church you would expect everyone to have a similar position on matters of doctrine and theology.

What are your thoughts about beauty? Do you think it is vain and superficial? This is a common understanding and there is a valid basis for looking deeper than outward appearances. But beauty can be found here too. Have you ever been moved by a beautiful piece of music? What about a natural landscape? Do you see beauty in patterns and thoughts and hold a properly reverential attitude toward acts of great sacrifice? If you are spiritual you will discern beauty everywhere you look. If you can look beyond the awkward confines of your culture you will be able to see the beauty of the Lord.

Do you see life in terms of compartments or connections? One view of life is that everything can be considered in isolation. This simplifies the calculations, but is it based on a true understanding of reality? You are right to think in terms of connections rather than compartments. That leads to the question of the size of your circle. How big is yours, and who is your neighbor? I faced a difficult task on earth of trying to move my own people from tribal identity to solidarity with all humanity and you can see how hard it was. Is it any easier with you?

Do you find satisfaction in helping those in need? Two things are necessary for you to accomplish this. You must be willing to be generous, and you must have the resources required by those in need. Do you think of this only in terms of money? This is one way but not the only way. It could be as simple as giving someone directions. There are many non-monetary ways to assist. Can you visit those in prison or the hospital? What about providing a word of encouragement to those who are weary? Can you provide validation of the value of life to those who are discouraged and uncertain of this?

What do you do with your moments of transcendence? Some people would claim to live in this state continuously, but all but  the most hardened skeptics will have moments that are too large to fit in the narrative of ordinary life and business as usual. Even unbelievers are moved by great music and other works of art, by extraordinary beauty in the natural world, and by the experience of or even stories of great suffering or self-sacrifice. What about believers? Does a transcendent world view guarantee that you will have a frame of reference large enough to comprehend these things?