When I started Christian college in the Fall of 1986, one of the required readings for our general education classes (of which there were many) was a book by Shirley Nelson entitled, The Last Year of the War. It is a book about one young woman’s experience at an evangelical Christian college in Chicago (that closely resembles the Moody Bible Institute) in the final months of World War II.

One of the reasons the had us read it is probably that the book does very accurately describes the different kinds of people and experiences you would probably encounter in an evangelical setting, even today. This is so true that I would not be surprised if modern anthropologists and sociologists studied the book to understand Evangelical Christian culture!

One of the funnier parts of the book describe a song that the men at the college would sing, “A-root, a-toot, toot, we are the boys from the institute. We don’t drink, dance or chew, or go with girls that do!”

That chant has stuck with me for many years as a way that most people view other people of faith. However, I balk at it as such a narrow view of my relationship with the One-Above-All. I realize that for some that is all their relationship is, a set of rules of what to do and not to do. I realize also that some people who look to Him, don’t follow ANY rules and a lot of people shake their heads when they hear about someone who claimed to love God, does something unthinkablely BAD.

However, I know that I can only control myself. I have to answer for my choices and motivations, not for his or her choices.

I want to make my choices based on, not on what social media or Lady Gaga will eventually decide is right or wrong, but on what the Word of God says. And that is not just a book, that is what I hear from wise, godly counsel, from my life, and examining my motivations. And yes, it is also from the Thou Shalts and Thou Shall Nots in the Bible. I desperately want to believe that the Lord’s heart knows my needs and desires even more than I do (Matthew 6:8)—-and therefore, has something better for me (Luke 12:30): better food, better water, better sleep, better sex.

The response to that is usually, ‘Well, aren’t there starving children in Africa?” The answer is Yes. The question, ‘Why does God allow that to happen with all the power He has?’ Inside of me, usually this question comes with the response, ‘Are you going to allow that to happen, with all the power and resources He has given to you?’

According to Pope Benedict 16th (focus.org): Many people perceive Christianity as something institutional–rather than as an encounter with Christ–which explains why they don’t see it as a source of joy.

If you have a relationship with God, you are tapped into the prime mover and knower of all the mysteries in the universe. We are His children. It is all about what we have gained and what He has for us! Don’t be afraid to give up something to get something far, far greater, both now and later. Be a man, develop patience, and have some faith.

Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

————————————————–W.