Do you ever wonder why people even bother with the whole church thing? From what I've heard from others, it appears to be all rules and hassles. Not to mention having to believe in absurd ideas like Jesus actually being God and the fact that He came to earth for a while.
I heard someone say once that you will never end up learning anything meaningful unless you are open to the possibility of being wrong about what you've already learned.
Now it's often quite easy to apply this to others, but I think it would be worth trying it out for a few minutes, especially since you may be reading an article that, well to be honest, you've already made your mind up about.
Putting aside prejudices of the church, crazy Christians you may have met, intellectual struggles, and whatever other probably valid concerns you have, let's take a look at Jesus and what He offered.
Well, amidst the thousands of books out there trying to explain just that, I think Jesus was simply offering a better way to live. He actually said, "I have come that they might have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). Now that may seem hard to believe considering what appears to be the list of rules that Christians seems to quote all too often.
But I'm pretty positive that's what He offered.
What people get worked up about are the challenges Jesus put out. I don't understand why this is even an issue. Everyone seems to agree that being in shape or having a healthy body comes with responsibility. To some it may mean no junk food, to others going to the gym. But generally if you want anything of value it takes responsibility and discipline.
The beautiful thing about Jesus is He knows it's hard to live "perfect" (whatever that means). So He actually offered to change our hearts so that if we do want to try to live a better life it's not done out of sheer will-power.
God actually makes it a desire that we perform out of love. Basically it's what we WANT to do not what we feel we SHOULD do. The difference between the two is a life lived out of passion and life lived out of obligation.
Why do people bother with the whole church thing? Well, that's why. Because they want to.
There is more to this life than just the strivings for security, pleasure and power. To be quite honest, this is my small attempt to stop you in your tracks and say, "Jesus, if you're the real thing, then I'm open to whatever you have." Jesus invites us to enjoy life with Him.
Talk to someone, read one of Jesus' parables, but above all refuse to give in to complacency. As brutal as it may sound, the path to a new life is paved with Christ's body and blood... isn't that worth a look?
Tyler Cody is part of the leadership team of Christian Fellowship Centre in Qualicum Beach.