I’ve always believed that the more I love God the more I will want to spend time with Him and serve Him and those around me. I’m not so convinced anymore. After 15 years of following Christ, I don’t really jump at the chance to read the Bible, pray, or serve. I’ve just been waiting for this experience where I really want to do what God wants me to. But my only experiences have shown me that I really only want to do what I feel like doing. Last night I came across this verse in the Message:

13The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.” 14-18Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I’ve come from and where I go next. You don’t know where I’m from or where I’m headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn’t make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. That fulfills the conditions set down in God’s Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me.”

John 8:14-18 (MSG)

This really blew me away. Jesus basically says I don’t make judgements like you guys do, and EVEN if did, I wouldn’t base those judgements on my experience, but on the character of God.” I think that if Im waiting for some experience to totally validate and motivate me to serve God and others, its not going to happen. But if I understand the character of God and base my actions on that, serving and loving God and others is the obvious choice. Maybe thats why the Bible is so important! Without it we would have no clue about God’s character and the validity of God’s testimony.

I’m not belittling the role of experience in the Christian life. I am post-modern after all. But maybe its not the most important thing. After all, where does faith come into play? It’d be like if instead of Peter trying to walk on the water like Jesus did, He just waited for the water to freeze over. That’s not faith, its cowardice. Faith shouldn’t be a by-product of experience, experience should be a by-product of faith. I think Jesus is calling me to leave the narrowness of my experience, and join Him in the liberation and freedom of trusting God. After 15 years, its probably about time.