Do you ever get bored with your Christian life?
Do you ever feel like something is missing?
Surely there is more to following Christ than merely avoiding bad movies on Friday and showing up at church on Sunday. And is wearing cross-laden t-shirts and carrying your Bible to school in front of your peers the sum of being the “Light of the World”?
Does it ever feel like God sucks all of the excitement out of life?
Does it seem like the gospel is all about not doing things? Or is there more to it all? Is there meaning behind the “don’t’s” and the “do’s.”
Because, if there’s not, what’s the point? Why stay?
Why not just walk away from it all?
Is this it? Is this the great call of the gospel? Is Christianity really this boring?
God forbid.
Christianity is as Boring as War
Christianity is about as boring as war, because Christianity is war. Yes, there are times when the training of bootcamp feels monotonous, unexciting, or trivial. There are times on the battlefield when the fighting lulls and the soldiers find it hard to keep their minds engaged and alert.
But war is never boring. And neither is true Christianity.
Satan loves to deceive us into believing the Christian life is relegated to the four walls of our gathering houses. He cripples us by presenting a safe but small God. He depletes us by dulling our divine cravings with food of the flesh.
He snickers when we congratulate ourselves for spending 10 extra minutes in our often disengaged “worship services.” We restrict Christ’s power in our lives when we limit “devotion to God” to mere minutes of scripture and prayer every day.
We are right to be bored with this level of Christianity. We are right to be frustrated with the lack of God in our Christian experience. This level of purpose, risk, and commitment is disappointing for a community claiming to know and follow the One who invented the universe.
God didn’t design us to live on the sidelines. He didn’t die on the cross so we can spend 10 minutes a day thinking about him. He didn’t create you–with all your strength, intelligence, fierceness, and giftings–only for your biggest ambition to be living in a comfortable neighborhood, with a nice house, a lovely church, and a sanitized group of friends.
Following God isn’t always fun, but it’s always an adventure. Day-to-day life for a Christian is sometimes monotonous, but the grand scheme, the big picture is never boring. It’s a war.
It’s dangerous. It takes dedication and preparation. It takes grit. It takes fierce men and fearless women. It’s daring. It’s grimy. It’s honorable.
God made you for glory. He made you for danger. He made you for adventure.
Are you ready?
As you think about it, I would love to hear your thoughts.
How do you think you should respond to this article? If you had nothing to fear, what would you do right now?
I would love to hear it! Let me know in the comments below.
Later this week, I’m going to share about some of what holds me back, personally, and what I’m going to do about it.
Stay tuned!
Great article! Christianity is war, even if it is fighting the little battles more often than the big ones. If you win the little battle in, say, not hating, you won’t face the big battle of not physically murdering.
Incredible article! I am already interested.
Amazing article!! You write fantastically!
Pretty awesome stuff. The reason behind the Whole Armor of God is the war we are in. We have to wake up ready to fight. Thanks for writing this!
Really, really amazing article! You’ve whetted my appetite for the next one. 🙂
Wow, that’s a great way to describe the Christian life. Thanks so much Christopher for this.
Wow! This is a really great article! Thank-you for writing this! Looking forward for the next one!
Thanks, Christopher! This is great 🙂 I often think I would understand the war aspect of things more if I spent more time evangelizing etc. but I don’t really feel like I know how to do that, you know.
Thanks for the article, man, it was pretty great!
Yes. Yes. YES! Thank you for this. Even as a Christian, I long struggled with ‘boredom’.
It was not until two years ago that God revealed to me the excitement of being His. I used to think that Christians had to be serious all the time (yes, it sounds crazy, I know!). But, after an in-depth study on the word ‘joy’ in the bible, I realized that I had been deceived. I mean, in the Psalms, David even danced for the LORD!
We are in a war. And His joy is our strength amidst this war. There is nothing boring about being God’s child. His heir.
Couldn’t agree more Faye! I love the story of David, and how he dedicated himself to the Lord, even after he sinned. The bible says that Jesus has taken our sorrow, so that we may live in His joy! What more could we want??!
THIS IS SO TRUE!!!!! It is SO easy to forget in today’s culture that we must SUBMIT our entire lives to God, instead of ADDING Him onto our lives and continuing the way we lived before (with extra crosses and bible verses on our clothing). Christianity is indeed a war, one that many soldiers do not seem to know they are fighting because they never leave their tents.
Hannah, this is so true! Winning the little battles sets you up for success in big battles. Thanks for pointing that out, it’s a great reminder for me!
I’m at this moment of my life when i don’t know how to do christianity right, or even if there is a “right” way to be a christian. A few weeks ago as a was reading ‘Man Enough’ by Nate Pyle. A sudden thought came into my mind… I had been baptised to someone i didn’t know.
Yesterday was the first day in a long while that i had honestly sat down to read my bible and have an genuine time with god. I feel so weird being so genuinely honest on this site, i think maybe it is because i have seen so many supportive and encouraging members of this group.
I want to follow Jesus. But to be honest i am struggling with the how bit.
How does Jesus want me to follow him, personally? not how the world wants me to follow him or even the church.
Baptism is supposed to be a public proclamation of that your sinfulness has died with christ and you are a new creation made alive in him.
Maybe satan is causing me to doubt who i really am to God. I am so unsure rightnow……
K
I love your honesty! Quite frankly, too few Christians dare to be honest. Including me.
First, I want to reassure you that DOUBTING IS NOT UNBELIEF. They are two different things. When the angel came to Mary, for example, she asked, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ (Luke 2:34). She genuinely couldn’t understand how God could use her to conceive and birth the Savior of the world (much in the same way we genuinely can’t understand how God can use us or when we get confused as to how He can be faithful even in the hard times).
In the same chapter, we see Zechariah question God. He is told that Elizabeth, his wife, is going to have a child. Zechariah asked, ‘How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.’ (Luke 2:18). ‘And the angel answered him, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news.’ (Luke 2: 19). In other words, Zechariah was mocking God. He knew it was impossible that for a couple at their ages to have children. Not even God could preform that miracle, right?! (NOT!) Of course, for his mockery, Zechariah was mute until the birth of his son came to be.
Hopefully this helps contrast doubt and disbelief a tiny bit.
Yes, dig deep into the word of God (His truth will set you free!). Honestly share your struggles with mature, Godly people in your life.
Just the fact that you are desiring to serve God better, to spend more time with Him, that you feel guilty for doubting who He is, etc. proves that you are most likely a Christian.
Most importantly, IT IS OKAY TO DOUBT. Honestly, I find myself doubting way more than trusting most days! I know your pain. The best advice I can give is to daily read God’s word and pray… pray about your struggles, your future, etc. Surrender yourself fully to Him and He will take you on the wildest (sometimes scariest) adventures. He alone can satisfy you.
My testimony is a long journey of doubt. I struggled for the longest time with whether or not I was saved. When God confirmed my faith, I cannot even begin to describe the joy and peace I felt!
I hope this helps. I will pray for you. Just remember that it is okay to doubt. Even the seemingly bravest theologians doubt.
P.S. Read through the book of Psalms. Note how many times the writers doubted God’s faithfulness. Doubted His plan for them. And even pray these Psalms to God. I love how many Psalms begin with the writer crying out in pain and doubt and how these same Psalms end in praise and thanksgiving. Because, even amidst doubting, the truth is, God is still good. 🙂
One more thing! The ‘right’ way of Christianity is following God. Surrendering yourself to Him. Reading His Word to learn and live out His truth. That’s the ‘right’ version of Christianity. I know it’s hard. I so often try to imitate other Christians instead of imitate God. So, it’s yet another crazy battle of Christianity… 😉
Amen, Angela! Everything we are, do, say–all of it should be in submission to Jesus!
Wow! What an awesome discovery!
Amen, amen, amen! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the encouragement, Jason! And you’re welcome!
Hm… I think a lot of struggle with sharing our faith–I definitely do. In fact, I’m hoping to make a video about that one of these days…
I think part of the struggle comes from our trying to put evangelism into a box or a formula. But we’re all different–what works for some people just doesn’t fit for other people or what works for one generation isn’t appropriate for another.
I don’t think this should be an excuse not to evangelize–that’s a command from Jesus. But it won’t always look the same for every believer, if that makes sense?
I’m curious what you would say is the hardest thing you face when thinking about evangelism?
I think for me the hardest thing is going deeper than just “Jesus loves you” when talking to strangers. I don’t always know the balance of “snatching them from the fire” (Jude 1:23) and being overbearing/pushy with “religion.” There is a balance there, but I don’t always know where it is.
Thanks, Emma!
Thanks and you’re welcome! =)
Good! I can’t wait for the next one either! =)
That’s right! I’m curious, what do you do to “wake up ready to fight”?
Thanks, Delaney!
Thanks, Michael! I’m glad I peaked your interest! =)
This is really good and true, Christopher! Yeah, I guess for me probably the hardest thing about evangelism is just not knowing where to start. I don’t know that many non-Christians and talking to strangers just feels weird to me–and I’m like how am I supposed to do that.
But in terms of the people I do know, I’d say oftentimes my conversations with them are with others in the family, and I don’t feel like I should be doing much (or any) of the talking. Also, I don’t want to like force something. . .
Thanks for this comment. It’s interesting and insightful.
That’s a really good point, Angela!
Man, Michael, I’m right with you. Most days I feel like I stumble my way through life.
“…how to do Christianity right…” If there is a “right way” to do it, I rarely nail it–if ever. I’ve gone through times where my “devotional life” is disciplined and my prayers are fresh, and my faith is strong, but I’ve spent more times struggling to remain disciplined and fighting to believe. Some days my belief is pretty weak–seemingly non-existent.
BUT JESUS SUSTAINS US. Praise God!
The other day, I was feeling pretty down. I felt like I had failed God, failed His calling, and neglected relationship with Him. I was focused on how I* had failed God; I* had not been faithful.
But then I just started praising God and telling Him (and really myself) what all he had done for me and for other’s in the past. How HE had been faithful. There, by myself before God’s throne, I praised God for who He was. Because He NEVER CHANGED. Even when I was sad and down and didn’t feel like worshiping, GOD STILL DESERVED IT.
And you know what? It was easier for me to be encouraged about life when I focused on how good God was. It’s not magic. The fact is, when we look at ourselves, it’s pretty depressing, but when we look at Christ, it’s immensely beautiful.
Being a Christian isn’t like baking a cake: “A little bit of this and a little bit of that and you get a picture-perfect, savory Christian.”
It’s a relationship. It’s alive. It’s growing and changing. It’s messy. And it has an enemy.
If you feel like you don’t really know Jesus, pursue Him, get to know Him. Ask Him to reveal Himself to you and to cultivate in you a love for prayer and scripture.
Do your best to remain disciplined in pursuing Him, but remember “if we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).
I think you’re on a good journey, Michael, and I think Satan wants to get you down and distracted from focusing on Jesus.
Fight for that focus; fight for that connection with the Father.
“Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.'”
Blessings, brother!
Thank you so much for your vulnerability! I think this is something we all face. . .not knowing what God wants us to do or who He wants us to be.
What I’ve been learning recently is that one of the main things God wants from me is to just let go. To not try to control my life–or even control the direction my relationship with Him is going so much as just putting it into his hands.
I think you’re definitely right about Satan causing you to doubt your identity in God. Just because we don’t feel like we know God and have the strong connection with Him we want, that doesn’t mean God doesn’t love us. Or that we’re not Christians. We all go through seasons like that, and that’s when our faith is proved true. Do we cling to the Lord, let Him hold us and hold the reigns of our crazy lives, or do we decide it’s too hard to be a Christian. . .it’s too confusing etc.
I can definitely see, just from your comment that your headed in the right direction. You had the courage to be open about your struggles on this website, and not only that. But you say yourself “You want to follow Jesus.”
That might seem like just the door way into actually following Him, but it’s so much more. All God really wants is our willingness, and then He will lead us. And He has. I am so happy that you got into your Bible yesterday, and I would encourage you to read it more. To guard it. To love it. To absorb it, and protect it as your very life.
I think my main encouragement for you would be to not read the Bible because that’s the right thing to do or what you should be doing. Sure. That’s true! But you read the Bible just as much because it’s your spiritual food. Because without it, God feels silent to us. And the devil’s voice seems so loud.
Through prayer and listening to God in prayer we can learn some of what God wants us to do and who He wants us to be (More importantly, who He wants to be for us.) But we can only discern the voice of God if we read the Bible. If we’re not constantly in the Word, we can confuse the truth with the lies. And the devil can gain a foothold in our lives.
I know, even if I step out of reading the Bible for one day for me, it makes temptation so much stronger. It starts to kill me and suck my life. It starves me. And I need the Word to survive.
And man, we are in a battle just as Christopher said. We’re all in a battle–the same battle. I’d encourage you to tell people in your life about where you’re at so they can fight for you in prayer and with encouragement from the Word.
I will be praying for you, brother and fellow warrior. Keep pressing on, prince of God!
This is an amazing response! You are so right on all of your points!
And yes, Satan is always looking for opportunities to steal… steal your faith, your identity, your heart, etc. I struggle in this area ALL THE TIME.
Christianity is a constant war, for sure!
Thanks Faye! This is really encouraging.
AMEN!!!
Yes, so true! I completely agree with what you said: ‘Even when I was sad and down and didn’t feel like worshiping, GOD STILL DESERVED IT.’
So true. We all doubt. But no matter how much we doubt, the truth is, God is still faithful. He is still good.
As for doubting and confused as to what God’s path is for you, I just read Ann Voskamp’s newest book, ‘The Broken Way’. I love one point she makes:
‘Can I believe in God, in Jesus, in a way that I know Jesus believes in me? Maybe it isn’t enough to believe in Jesus-maybe I have to believe that Jesus believes enough in me to choose me. If Christ has chosen me, can He not believe in me? Can I believe Jesus believe in me?’
It’s helpful to read this in context. Sorry if it sounds confusing. 😀
It consists of waking up with the realization of the immensity of our fight. It means to literally say “Satan will try something to harm me, and I must be ready”, when we wake up in the morning. There are no T-outs in the fight, Satan is going to try to throw everything he can at your feet to make you stop running your race. War is nothing to take lightly, and neither is God’s war. Filling yourself with truth is important, so spending time with God is an awesome way to prepare yourself.
Please keep writing, I enjoy reading your work.
I would really like to see a video on sharing our faith! This is some thing that I have struggled with and so far been losing the battle. For starters I would classify myself as a fairly sheltered Christian home- schooler.I’m also an introvert with fairly low (not really all that bad) social skills. I very rarely come in contact with unbelievers. The times that I do come in contact with unbelievers is in a public place such as a super market/store. I have felt (im pretty sure) prompted to share the gosple on a couple different occasions. I confess i did not share the gosple each time. Part of it I just was I was fearful,and didn’t know what to say, and part of it is I haven’t completely surrendered my will to be His will. There are probably four times that I can really remember that i have felt strongly to share the gosple. The only time I accualy did start to talk to one of them it sounded like they already were a Christian.They also endedended the conversation promptly. I have some gospel tracts and usually bring them with me. So any thing on sharing the gospel would be great!!
Guys
Thankyou so much for your encouragement and support. I am just so in awe that many of you would just take time to read and support me through this area of life that i am currently struggling with,
It means so much…
That’s what we’re here for. =)
i mean it
This article is all stuff I’ve heard before, but I like the way you wrote it, and it’s good to hear it again! I love finding similar, like-minded Christians on the Rebelution! (I love writing too!) 🙂 Thanks for writing this, Christopher!