making sense of the little word "if"

"if" is not a very big word but it can have big implications to us. For instance
METLIFE has an ad that their products are "guarantees for the if in life"
suggesting "if" represents all the uncertainties we face in our life and they can make them certain.
Two different friends recently made this statement: "what difference does it make if I am a Christian?"
One friend is a Christian and "it" is the notion of various forms of doctrine or beliefs residing in the Christian faith. The other friend is agnostic and "it" is dealing with how she lives her life (or anyone else for that matter).

Interestingly, not only in the same sentence (made by both a believer and a non believer) does "it" have different antecedents, the word "if" has different meanings. My agnostic friend used "if" in the way we normally use it, as a reference to effect flowing from an uncertain cause. "If A then B" means that the occurrence of B is conditional on the occurrence of A, which may or may not occur. She is in effect saying that in her experience the behavior of peeps she knows is not any different (or conditional) on whether they profess to be a Christian or not. She seems to feel she is "just as good a person" as her Christian friends. In other words, she is discounting the certainty of the statement "if one is a Christian, then they behave better than one who is not."

My Christian friend seems to be saying that "because (or since) I am a Christian, what difference does it make what doctrine I embrace?" In this instance "if" is reference to cause and effect that is established because A has occurred. That is, "if (since) A then B" means B occurs because B naturally flows from A and A is presumed to be true, exist, or have already occurred (not uncertain).

This is an example of how the word "if" can be translated in at least two different ways. In the Bible we find the same issue and how we consider the word "if" can make a difference in our understanding of a particular Scripture passage. For instance, "if God so loved us, we ought to love one another." The word "if" here (and in many similar passages) is best translated as "since" or "because." That is, since (because) God's love for us has already occurred, it flows naturally from this truth that we are made to love others. The issue of our sense making is based on whether A is certain or necessary to happen in the future (uncertain) to cause B to occur? In this use of the word "if", B (we love others) is the natural outcome of what already exist A (God loves us). Our natural tendency is to make sense of this verse by the perspective that A may or not occur but if it does, then B will occur. This subtle difference in how the word "if" is understood can make a big difference in how we make sense of what God is saying to us through Scripture.

One more example to illustrate the two different meanings for "if" (conditional cause and effect).
"if the world heats up 3 degrees in the next 50 years, the ice will melt and we will all drown." here statement A is uncertain but if it were true, then B would occur.
"if the world is round, we can go in one direction and return to where we start." here statement A is true and not uncertain and B flows from A as a natural consequence.

This leads me to a side note on the statements of these two friends:
One reason my agnostic friend does not see that being a Christian is relevant to what kind of person we are is because my Christian friend (and many Christians like him) do not believe that doctrine (or what we believe) really matters or is relevant since we are saved. After all, salvation is based simply on our faith in Jesus as our Savior, not doctrines of our faith. However, while our eternal destiny may not be in the balance, if our mind has not been transformed from carnal to Kingdom, then what we believe about ourself (and God) will severely restrict the "quality" of our life as a Christian and especially our witness. When Jesus says "the truth will set you free" He is referring to the freedom to be and to love based on the power of Grace we have received. If we don't know or believe what that means (uncertain), then we stay stuck in the legalism of  Social Exchange (certain if A is true). As such, the world surely can not see the Gospel in our life and our life does say to others that our faith really matters.

Back to the beginning: who is it we should most trust with guaranteeing (putting the certainties in) the "if's" in our life, schemes of man (e. g., MetLife) or the creator of the universe who loves us unconditionally?

So much pondering in such a little word!!  (I luv it)

making sense of serving

"we serve and we cannot control the results, but we keep serving."

This is a line from the Hallmark movie "Beyond the Blackboard." This movie tells the story of a young woman who found great service in teaching homeless kids who were left out of the mainstream education system. While this young lady did yeomen's duty serving these kids who had been forgotten by society, she had to deal with the unpredictable events around the transient and chaotic aspect of homeless families. In the beginning she would be significantly affected when all her efforts seemed to fail because the parents of the kids made bad choices negating her service. While the movie shows her new found freedom in serving in spite of the outcome, it did not explain how or why this can happen.

The question of divorcing our expectations of results from our efforts to serve others permeates all of our being. You may "test yourself" in your motives for service. To what degree are you burdened with the expectation of results of your serving? In our nature (carnal mind) we cannot escape expectations of those we serve and outcomes we desire. We cannot give of ourselves without some expectation of return. Yet real serving must.

The only way we can serve with no expectation of return on our "selfless efforts" is if our purpose, value and identity is not found in our service. This only occurs when we fully embrace Grace (Kingdom mind). When we know for sure that our purpose, value and identity has been established by the greatest service of all eternity, the Cross, we can give with no expectation  of return. Further, we can receive God's blessings with no obligation because we know His gift is unconditional. That is, only until we have received the greatest gifts of all with "no strings attached" can we give our gifts to others with "no strings attached."

Then and only then can we serve and serve and serve ..... without burnout, disappointment, and the stress of outcomes.

Now that my friend is the freedom that comes from truth and grace. Something worth pondering ...

"days of our lives"

Even as the trend is to become more and more isolated as individuals and hide from each other, technology has made it more difficult to remain "UNKNOWN"

what a paradox of our times!!!   something to ponder ....

making sense from our "yesterdays"

I once advised a young lady that we cannot look out into the future and understand the way things will be or how we will feel then based on our today. As we go through life each season informs the next such that we can only make sense of our today once we get there and see how our yesterdays begin to make sense.

Sometimes given our proneness to fear, what we thought was a "grizzly bear" chasing us and trying to harm us is really a "prince" that was holding our hand through treacherous times.

While this can be true of people in our lives, it is most certainly true of God. Because of our fear in the midst of difficult circumstances in life, we are prone to think of God as an adversary or judge. However, coming out the other side we surely see Him as our friend and indeed the sustainer of life.

Happy Birthday to my dear friend.
Remember, today is yesterday's tomorrow and is the first day of the rest of your life!!