Flat on Our Faces
Several years ago I was awakened at 1 AM by my college-aged son. He burst into my room and begged me to please come to the living room to pray with Travis, another college-aged young man who had just "found God". When I walked in I could clearly see that Jesus had already done His work.
Travis was flat on his face on the couch and sobbing. I sat next to him and prayed silently. When his sobbing subsided, we talked. Apparently the two of them had been discussing salvation for some time, with Travis asking all the age-old questions, including, "What about all the other religions? All the other ways to God?" At that, my son was ready to turn the discussion over to his youth pastor and suggested they talk to him the following day. But he hesitated and instead asked Travis if they could pray.
That's when the Holy Spirit moved in. In the midst of that prayer, the Presence of Christ became so real to Travis that he crumbled before Him. He surrendered fully to Christ even though he didn't fully understand. He was simply, yet powerfully, aware of God's holiness and his own sin. He asked for forgiveness and basked in God's Presence.
That's when I walked in. After he sat and dried his tears, my son said, "Back to your question about other religions..."
Travis interrupted him, "It doesn't matter anymore." He had encountered The Holy One. The Creator of all. The Savior. His Savior. And at that moment he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt the Truth. Questioning and doubts most likely followed. And that's okay. As long as we search for answers in a surrendered state; with Christ at the center of everything.
Our country is in the midst of turmoil. We are bombarded with negative news reports, most often buoyed up by exaggeration and downright lies. Lies from the far left and lies from the far right. Anything to boost media sales and political gain.
I often find myself wanting to "set people straight" on social media and there's nothing wrong with engaging in civil, intelligent discussions. Please, please do that if that's where God leads you. But do your research and don't propagate lies. As for me, whenever I'm about to put my 2 cents in, I stop and pray. And every time I hear God whisper, "Point people to Christ".
I stayed in touch with Travis over the years and watched him make many bad choices. But he never turned his back on Christ. He has come full circle and is now committed to a really good church. His political leaning is the complete opposite of mine but our relationship with Christ is far, far more important. We are God's children, bound together by this heavenly, eternal relationship. Occasionally we have delightful, loving discussions about political matters but always steer them toward Christ whenever they get heated. We agree that ultimately we want the same things; safety, freedom, a secure future for our kids, continued freedom of religion, speech, and so on. How we get there on the political path is what we disagree with.
Satan wants to destroy the church and he's using today's toxic political scene to do that. Don't cooperate with him. Don't be his tool. Political differences can destroy churches, families and individual relationships. It mattered greatly to Travis to get answers about other religions. But that was before his encounter with Christ. Christ’s very real Presence can completely overpower all political differences. We may not know all the answers, but we know Him. And He is the Answer!
We may not entirely agree with someone but when two people have encountered Christ and surrendered their lives to Him, all differences fade in comparison. We can bond deeply as Holy Siblings and sneer at our differences.
“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16)
Don't let your strong political views overshadow your life-changing relationship with Christ. Now, more than ever is the time for wisdom. Wisdom from above. The Wisdom that comes from being flat on our faces before our God.
