We live in a sensual culture. Everywhere we turn, our senses - usually all 5 at once - are being stroked & stimulated. The art & aim of every entertainer, producer, & advertiser is to enhance our experiences in order to secure our approval. We as humans (especially as sensual, existential 21st century Americans) live our lives with much attention & focus given to experience, feelings, & emotions. Often times, it is not the content of an event/story/etc. that affects us. Rather what is most important is how the event made us feel...
Consequently, there is a danger that we face as Christians in the 21st century. Heck, I think this is a danger that Christians faced in the latter 1st century. I notice at times a recurring & frightening habit creeping up, not only in the lives of churches, but in my own life. There are moments & seasons when, gulp, I live & experience my so-called "Christian walk" with the Bible at arm's distance from my heart. The inevitable result of this neglect of God's Word is not an ultimate rejection of my faith (I still believe in the gospel, I still attempt to live a God-honoring life, etc.) Rather the result of neglecting a steady diet of God's word in my heart is much more subtle...I begin to analyze my Christianity & my "spiritual walk" based solely on my experiences. I begin to form my theology based on my independent emotions. In short, I myself become the standard of my own life.
The fault that I see with this is not strictly with emotions, experiences, & feelings. These are God-given faculties that we use to know & serve God. However, apart from the Bible, we don't know Jesus. Apart from the Bible, there is no "Christianity." Apart from the Bible, there is no foundation for what to believe & what not to believe. Apart from the Bible, there is no idea of how to worship or Whom to worship. Apart from the Bible, there is no clear standard for right & wrong. Apart from the Bible, there is no hint of any exemplary attitude of humility & worship that we should live by...The Bible is God's revelation of himself...It is the way he has chosen to communicate with humanity! Apart from it, there is no communication with our creator & savior...
So...why am I content to live day-in & day-out apart from God's word? Why am I content to allow my experience, emotions, and personality to become the standard by which I live?
The apostle Peter would not allow this in his life, nor in the lives of the churches he shepherded. Consider a few simple thoughts from a stunning passage in 2 Peter 1:16-21.
1. The story of Jesus is true. Peter makes it very clear that the Person we follow is worthy of following, because he really lived, really died, and really rose again. He says, "We did not follow cleverly devised myths...but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). Peter & the disciples knew Jesus is God because they saw him live...in real, actual, time-space history.
2. Peter had crazy experiences following Jesus. In order to further prove the reality & historicity of King Jesus, Peter refers to the experience of seeing Jesus transfigured gloriously on the "mount of transfiguration" (see Matthew 17:1-8). He talks of this experience emphatically by saying, "we ourselves heard... for we were with him on the holy mountain" (2 Peter. 1:18). I imagine the experience of seeing Jesus' transfigured into glory caused chills down Peter's spine. I imagine it was an incredible "high" to gain a peek of how glorious Jesus will appear to us in heaven. Yet, Peter did not stop his "breakdown" of the story there...
3. Peter says that God's Word is more trustworthy than his own experience. I'm not making this up. Peter writes, "And we have something more sure [than our crazy experience], the prophetic word..." WHA??? Peter claims that the word of God is a more sure foundation for his daily life as a Christian than his own emotional & dramatic experience with Jesus.
So, what's the point? Peter sums up and writes, "You will do well to pay attention to God's Word as to a lamp shining in a dark place..." There exists much uncertainty about truth in our world, and even in our own hearts. Yet the answer is not to hang on to a shallow Christianity, one that is interpreted by emotions, cliches, movie clips, and experiences. Rather, because the Bible is true, our entire lives should be committed to what is revealed in God's Word. Peter walked with Jesus, saw a transfigured Jesus, denied a convicted Jesus, and spoke with a resurrected Jesus. Yet after all those highs & lows (and the emotions that accompany them), his message was simple- above all else, cling to, worship, obey, and follow Jesus through the Word of God, written and preserved for you.
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