Dale Cresap's blog

Do you admire principles like courage, generosity, and gratitude? It is one thing to express affirmation of these values as detached abstractions. It is quite another to see them as embodied manifestations. Do you admire the people who can implement these things successfully? Does the open display have a profound effect on you that calls for a response? Leaders understand the value of leading by example, and virtue is contagious. If others let their light shine before men that their good works are visible to you, then go and do likewise, and let your light shine as an example to others.

Have you endured pain and suffering that you wouldn’t wish on anyone else? Even with this it is difficult to bear alone. Even without wanting another person to suffer the same way, don’t you find it comforting to encounter someone who has? Who else can really understand your situation? Who else can provide you the comfort of knowing that you are not alone? The Bible emphasizes my temptations and suffering so you know that I have the credentials to comfort you.

When people came to me to be healed, what did I ask them? Do you want to be healed? Does this sound so simple as to be a stupid question? Who wouldn’t want to be healed? Yet consider what I didn’t ask. Do you belong to my group? Have you been following the commandments? Is there any sin in your life that you need to repent of? Have you been supporting the Lord’s work financially? Do you recognize and affirm that I am the Son of God? In asking only if they wanted to be healed I set the bar really low. And when I healed them I declared that it was their faith that made them whole.

Are you disturbed by evil around you? Does it seem like the whole world lies in wickedness? Do you rise up and stand in opposition to evil? The logic for doing so is defensible. What do you think I meant when I said resist not evil? The context was personal insult or violence against you, and how many, even of my followers, are prepared to turn the other cheek? Are you more certain of what you are opposed to or what you are in favor of? There is a certain spiritual essence in pushing harder in the right direction than against the wrong one.

Who do you interact with? Are most of your friends Christians? In a still more narrow sense, are most of your friends members of your church? This is not meant to condemn you. That is a normal consequence of being in community. Do you also find that most Christian ministry is directed toward other Christians? Is this harder to defend than having a small circle of friends? I had my own inner circle of disciples, but used every opportunity to speak to large groups and made a special effort to include outsiders.

What do you expect in heaven? Do you expect to be completely restored and physically perfect, your ideal version of yourself in your mid-twenties? What did my disciples notice about me after my resurrection? Didn’t I carry my wounds into my resurrection and even show them off? If this was true for me what would you expect for yourself? You have already heard too many glib and trite descriptions of heaven with more certainty than the Bible will support. Will it be enough for you to see me as I am and know as you are known?

It takes money to buy things. You refer to this as financial capital, and you say that those who have much of it are rich. Is money sufficient for everything you need? Can you recognize that spiritual and emotional capital are also valid concepts? For you can have one without the other, and the verses about the poor being rich in faith and the story of the camel and the eye of the needle imply that these things don’t always go together. What do you need to ‘buy’ with emotional and spiritual capital? If you don’t have enough, come and see me because I have plenty and will hand it over.

Do you consider your faith to be one of knowledge or participation? For you know believers who make diligent inquiry to develop a comprehensive set of truth claims, and reduce faith to believing these claims. Has this level of scholarship been available to everyone throughout history? You know that you are saved by grace through faith, and not of works. Yet knowledge puffs up, and you accurately describe your faith as a relationship. Can a relationship be described as works? Can a relationship exist without participation?

What is your identity? Do you look at your achievements and credentials and positive accomplishments and accept them as the essence of your being? Some people do the same thing with their shortcomings, faults, and bad habits. Could it be that both are wrong? These are all acquired things for you started life with none of them. Do you acquire things to present a favorable image to others? This is a recipe for insecurity and you run the risk of convincing yourself that you are the image that you present to others.

Did you learn eternal truth at an early age? Not everyone had this privilege. Were you instructed in righteousness, and given firm and loving correction for your flaws? Did you have the confidence and security of being raised in a stable home? What does it mean to you when I said much is required from whom much is given? Do you think this applies only to great wealth, fame, and talent? Not everyone had the advantages that you did. This is an opportunity to avoid judgement of those who did not have such favorable circumstances. It is also a chance to ponder what is required of you.