Where Did You Go?

As a member of the human race, I must confess, there are days that I just don't feel it. Know what I'm talking about? Days when you just don't feel spiritual, normal, or loving. Days when you feel insignificant. It's in those moments that I have to make a choice. Am I going to embrace life OR am I going to escape?

Escapism - the tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy.
Been there?

There is just too much of our faith wrapped up in this type of thinking. We gather in the church to escape the pressures of life. We long for a rapture so we can escape the world. In fact, there's a lot of people who jumped in the faith journey just to escape hell. We seek to distract ourselves from unpleasant realities. In this case, it comes in the form of spirituality. Not really engaging. Simply going through the motions.

At some point in our lives, our faith needs to move from a sense of escaping life to an embracing of life. If we look at Jesus' statements concerning what He offered, it revolved around life. REAL LIFE. Life with purpose. Life with meaning. Coming to Jesus had nothing to do with escapism but everything to do with embracing what life was really all about.

Where's the disconnect? I think it's in our own thinking. We have viewed ourselves apart from our Father for far too long. We have seen ourselves through the eyes of Adam's Fall rather than in our original design. Paul told the Gentiles in Athens that God is not far from them. This blows the minds of any religious thinker. Yet here we are in 2014 still talking about people being separated from God. Therefore, faith becomes a means to disconnect from life rather than a way to connect with the true reality of it. Throw religion into the mix & you have what has been called the opiate of the masses.

Have we ever considered that the reason see faith in God is viewed this way because people see through the facade? Rather than real, living, breathing, authentic followers of Christ, all they see is the going through the motions. They don't experience change. They don't experience authenticity. We rail on the world about what they see in us rather than doing what needs to be done to change their opinion. They see it as an escape. We handle it like an escape. And we lose ourselves in the process.

I know the Bible talks about leaving the temporary & entering into the eternal. I realize that mortality will be swallowed up by immortality. I believe that we will lay down these earthly tents and be fully clothed. It's in the Bible. But what about the mean time? What happens in the middle of the story? Do we simply escape life or do we embrace it?

I get it. Life gets difficult sometimes. We go through some unpleasant things every now and then. But it's in those moments when we are to set our mind on heavenly things, not earthly things. It's in those moments that we are to live as those who are seated with Christ in Heavenly places. There's no need to run & hide. There's no need to lose ourselves in religious exercise. No need to hide in ritual. God can handle us where we are, in whatever circumstance we are going through, and regardless of how we feel. Scripture declares that we are more than conquerors. I don't see conquerors escaping. I see them overcoming.

Do you believe that it is in Him that we live & move & have our being?
Do you believe that He is the source for true, genuine, & authentic life?
Do you believe that your Heavenly Father wants you to experience His fullness right now?
Then where are you going? Why are you hiding? Why do we fantasize about an early departure? We were meant to inherit this earth, not escape it. We were meant to fill the earth not abandon it. We were meant to have dominion, not run & hide in our religion.

If abundant life was not possible then I don't believe Jesus would have offered it. This is where we have to step up to the plate. This is where we have to connect spiritually. This is where we close our eyes to the circumstances around us & look into the depths of the Holy Spirit within us. What God has given to us in Christ has a promise for the future but it also has practical use for today. Let's not waste it. Let us begin using faith as a means to embracing all that life has to offer. Stop hitting the escape button. Stop wearing masks. Stop thinking that you are not enough. Allow the original you to come forth. See yourself for who you really are and live with everything in you. You don't have to wait till Heaven to experience true & abiding life. Live it now.