You just have to experience it to understand!
The “Superman” ride at Six Flags defies description. Sure, I could tell you about getting into the
frame, ‘flying’ face down at 60 miles per hour along a twisting track of steel,
but to really appreciate it, you just have to get on the ride. You can watch.
You can listen to the screams. You can feel the wind created by the machine.
But, until you commit yourself to actually experiencing it you cannot really
know how it feels.
There is an experiential dimension to Christianity that we
must not ignore. In the discipleship of
new believers, we discuss a triad - “faith, fact, and feelings.” Sometimes the experiential component is
diminished, as it is unimportant. Oh, but it is! Being a Christian includes a rich experience of
the Living God. Though our feelings are subjective and therefore can be unreliable.
They are effected by fatigue, illness, and pain, for example. However, we must not discard them. Emotions are part of what it means to be “Christian.” The Gospel of Christ is not just a truth to
believe. He is a Person we know. The Holy
Spirit of God is to live in us, producing an experience that includes peace and
joy, among other things.
Much of Christianity feeds the head. Heavy tomes present
dense arguments about sound doctrine. I am thankful for those who work at
helping us to clarify the Scripture’s presentation of God and His nature.
Worship gatherings are often focused on readings and sermons. The heart is
ignored. We need to recapture the heart
of worship. The Psalms (the worship
handbook of the Bible) engage the emotions as part of our faith. In the 30th Psalm, David speaks of
the sadness of feeling alone, but then praises God for restoration of JOY! "O Lord, when you favored me, you made my
mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. … Hear, O
Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.” You turned my wailing into
dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may
sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."
(Psalm 30:7-12, NIV) This Psalm throbs
with emotion. "These things I
remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go with the multitude, leading
the procession to the house of God, with shouts of joy and thanksgiving among
the festive throng. Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within
me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. My
soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the
Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar." (Psalm 42:4-6, NIV)
The disciples of Jesus experienced real emotions. They felt
awe when they saw His miracles. When He told them of His impending death, they
were afraid and confused. After the crucifixion, they were broken by grief.
Then, the Resurrection infused them with profound and joyful hope. On the Day
of Pentecost, when they experienced
the Holy Spirit’s outpouring, they spilled out of the Upper Room with such a
display that bystanders said, “They’re
drunk on cheap wine.” (Acts 2:13, The Message) They were carried away in the Spirit. Yes, the Truth freed them from sin, but the
joy of the Presence of God carried them to the ends of the earth to tell others
of the love of God.
Have you scrubbed emotions from your Christianity?
Recover them! Let
Christ Jesus save you, both head and heart.
Invite Him to heal your broken heart, to let you dance again. Give
yourself permission to feel the Presence of God, to sing, to laugh, to weep, to
mourn over sin. Intimacy with God must
not be the missing quality of your Christian life. You just have to experience Him to know.
___________
I
Want The Joy
I
want the joy of the Lord to come down!
I
want the joy of the Lord to fall now!
I
want the joy of the Lord in my life.
I
want the joy of the Lord to lift me!
I
want the joy of the Lord to change me!
I
want the joy of the Lord in my life.
It's
time I started dancing,
Over
all these graves.
It's
time I gave You, oh my Lord,
The
highest praise.
It's
time to lift my voice
Oh
and beg for this blessing to fall.
Rita Springer
© 2002 River Oaks Music Company (a div. of EMI Christian
Music Publishing)
CCLI License # 810055
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