Getting to Know You

I’ll bet most of you have received those 25-question “Getting to Know You” quizzes that you’re supposed to complete and send on to your friends.  Then they replace your answers with theirs and send it back to you, as well as to many of their friends, hoping for responses.  The notion is that we all get to know more about our friends this way…you know, like what color socks they are wearing, what their favorite pie is, what makes them laugh out loud, when they last cried, who’s most likely to respond, and the like.  Well, I’ve decided that it’s been a while since I received one of these posts, so I’m going to create my own.  This one has a theme.

1. Jesus believer or non-believer?  Believer.
2. Heaven or hell?  Believe in both; looking forward to a permanent residence in heaven.
3. Sinner or I’m a good person and that’s all that matters?  Sinner through and through.
4. Sanctity of marriage or shacking up?  Sanctity of marriage.
5. Helping the poor and needy or looking out for number one, baby?  Helping the poor and loving them too.
6. Church or I don’t need no stinkin’ church?  Church/communing with believers.
7. Agape love or pure sexual gratifcation?  Agape love which is a lasting love.
8. Forgiveness or vengeance?  Forgiveness, which can be hard to offer and also to accept.
9. Bible study or anything but?  Bible study; I want to know and understand my Lord better with every breath I take and every syllable I read.  How can I possibly obey and be guided by scripture unless I get familiar with it?
10. Giving up control to a higher power or in control of everything?  Too often trying to be in control of everything, but constantly desiring to give it up to God, for my style of control can lead to disaster.

While I hope those who know me would be able to answer all of these questions correctly on my behalf just based on who I am and what my life reflects to them, I’ve gone ahead and answered them.  When I lie in bed at night, or while I’m driving somewhere by myself and left to my own thoughts, I often contemplate these things and other related subjects.  And I always come out with the same answer.  I want to please God.  I want to glorify Him.  I want to leave my sinful ways and grow in His grace.  But, I can’t do that without surrounding myself with a community of believers, without studying scripture that was inspired by God Himself and has lived on through millennia, or without caring for those in need.

I may sometimes seem like what was once termed a square, but I’ve seen too many friends and family try out many things that are the exact opposite of what scripture teaches and, while it may have seemed fun or exciting at the time, such feelings never last.  God has put a moral compass in each of us and too often we see it pointing north…then we head directly south.  It’s no wonder we then get lost for a time.  With an open heart, He will always rescue us and lead us home.  Boy, am I grateful for that, for I’ve taken more than enough wrong turns in my life.  How about you?  Give it some thought.