I was reading Luke chapter 7 today. Towards the end is a story in which Jesus visits a Pharisee; that is, one of the religious leaders of the time. The story begins this way...
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner."
Luke 7:36-39
The story goes on, but this section of the story already establishes something important to recognize. Jesus had been all over the country claiming to be a religious prophet and teacher. The Pharisee, being one of the religious leaders, is very interested in assessing the validity of these claims. And so he's invited Jesus to his home so that he can get a gauge on whether Jesus' claims are legitimate. And clearly, in his mind, he has a few criteria to assess whether Jesus is the real deal or not. What we need to realize is that this is no different to any of us. We all have our ideas on "If God were real, then..." Then there would be no suffering? Then He would speak to us clearly? Then there would be no prejudice or inequality? These are some of the things we decide must be true if God were real, and since they are not, we decide that God is not real. For this Pharisee it was, "If Jesus were a prophet He would not associate with sinners." But that's precisely the opposite of the truth. In fact, it's easy for us to see that since no one is without sin, then the Pharisee himself is a sinner; and yet Jesus is associating with him. The expectation is clearly false. How often are we so sure of our own false assumptions about God that we fail to believe Him?
There are many preconceptions we have about God and Christianity, and many of those are propagated by the Church itself. Some churches make it appear that if you have faith then any and every prayer will be answered. Some churches make it appear that if you have faith you will never get sick or suffer. But what is the truth? What can we expect? What is God actually like and how does He actually interact with us? The answer to this question is found in Scripture alone, and not necessarily in what is preached from the pulpit. The Pharisee was a religious leader, and yet he had come to believe that The Christ would surely not associate with sinners. Our religious leaders can be wrong. What is inerrant, however, is the Word of God itself. As we read it we learn about God and what He is really like. As we read it, we ourselves can also struggle to understand some things and make false conclusions about what we've read. But the error remains our own, and the Word of God itself is not in error. And in time through continued reading we can also correct our own misunderstandings. So knowing what God is like, and what to expect from God, ultimately takes a lifetime of devotion to His Word to grasp fully. But while we cannot fully grasp it all at once, there are, I believe, a few things which we can easily grasp and know to be certain. These are, firstly, that God wants us to be like Him. Secondly, that God loves us. Thirdly, that because He loves us, He hates sin and what it does to us; namely that it separates us from Him. And so, what we can expect from a relationship with God is that we, too, will hate sin and be filled instead with love, as we become more like Him. What this means is that we will be prepared to abandon those sins that we once loved and we will desire to do acts of love instead. Acts of love include reaching out to other sinners, as Jesus did in the story above, because we too will hate what sin is doing to our fellow man. But our love will cause us to care for those who are suffering and provide for those in need. These are the things which are certain. Love increases and sin decreases.
If you are trying to judge whether the claims of Christianity are true, then be careful about how you aim to make that judgement. The "Problem of Evil" is full of false assumptions. The "Prosperity Gospel" is full of false assumptions. And even, based on what I have said, we can choose to see what suits our own hypothesis about Christianity, because there are many who call themselves Christians but don't know Christ, and so don't have that relationship which increases love and decreases sin. But in those who are genuine, this is what one can expect to find. Jesus has even said so Himself...
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35
