Many criticize those who follow the Christian faith and place their trust in God’s word. Some condemn what they consider blind faith and trusting a God unseen. Others state that the Bible has too many contradictions or that it’s words aren’t believable or reliable. Still others criticize Christ followers as those who believe in made up traditions like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny. There are others who grow up in faith traditions who struggle to reconcile those traditions with the words found in scripture or the reality found in the world around them. Many reject their faith and choose to criticize and not believe.
I recently read a review of the new book “Young Benjamin Franklin” authored by Nick Bunker. The author has high regard for Mr. Franklin, yet challenges the earlier images and representations provided by the subject himself in his autobiography; “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.” Mr. Bunker paints this early work as something of a fraud, the painting of a public image that didn’t quite exist. Many see the church this way.
Certainly those who follow Christ do the world a disservice when we get it wrong. And boy do we get it wrong often. And why wouldn’t we, we are imperfect human beings like everyone else on the planet. We are sinners and we do what sinners do, we sin. When we act like Jesus has solved all problems, that we have been delivered from sin and no longer struggle with our lesser nature, we alienate ourselves in our dishonesty. As Mr. Franklin did in his biography, we scrub our stories of the unseemly parts. We hide our sins and failures and present to the world our very best self. This has not served us well.
We all want to live better lives, to be our very best selves, and to arrive in Utopia, Shangri-La or the wonderful land of Oz. But we have seen the man behind the curtain and know that perfection won’t be achieved or paradise found in this life. This practice of covering sins and hiding faults isn’t endorsed by the book we Christians follow. The Bible is not like that. It is honest down to its bones. It doesn’t edit out the difficult and the ugly. It doesn’t scrub its main characters of sins and flaws. Instead it brings everything out of the shadows and into the light.
The Bible reveals a history of its central figures and heroes that many find shocking for such prominent characters in the story of God. This includes Jacob who dishonored and deceived his Father and brother to improve position in the family lineage. Later, Jacob’s sons conspired against their younger brother Joseph and sold him into slavery. The deliverer Moses murdered a man in his early life as did King David, the latter due to the fact that he had earlier impregnated his victim’s wife in an adulterous affair. One of Jesus’ disciples betrayed him to death, while the others fled for their lives during his capture and torture, his best friend even denying that he knew him.
These are just a handful of the stories found in scripture. The teaching and instruction are just as raw and real. Though we like our heroes victorious, if we are honest we can relate more to Peter’s denial than to Stephen’s brave testimony in the moments preceding his death. Though we love success, we along with the Apostle Paul must confess that we can’t live the life we want nor do what we know is right.
Thanks be to God for giving us such a book and for providing such instruction on how to live. Let’s be honest with ourselves and the world around us that we are broken people in need of a Savior. And thanks be to God for loving us so much that he provided one.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16, NIV