For the purpose of this discussion, let's set aside for a moment the argument about whether or not the Bible is literally accurate.  Instead, let's assume that some biblical stories are metaphor.  I know it sounds heretical, and I don't personally believe it, but for this discussion, let's assume that some of the stories are metaphorical life lessons.  I just don't want you to get distracted from the point of this post.   We can debate later about biblical accuracy.

We humans are funny creatures. 

Adam and Eve had it all.  They had everything that they needed.  God, the supreme Creator of the universe, created them and provided for them as only their Creator could.  He knew what they needed.  He knew what was best for them.  And until the serpent came along, they thought they had everything that they wanted. 

But Satan came along and planted a little seed of doubt.  "Surely God didn't mean that you couldn't eat fruit from that tree, did He? That makes no sense.  Why would God create a tree for you, if He didn't want you to eat from it?  You know what?   I'll bet He's worried that you will become as powerful as He is.  Yeah, that's it.  He doesn't care if you eat the fruit- He just doesn't want you to have what He has." 

And blah, blah, blah.

A number of generations later, God has freed the nation of Israel from Egyptian slavery.  Formerly slaves and at the very bottom rung of the hierarchy, now, they were free.  God had delivered them from Pharoah and his army.  God parted the Red Sea, allowed Israel to cross, and closed it back up on top of the Egyptian army.   They didn't even have to worry that Pharoah would come after them.  God had taken care of them.

As part of their Exodus to the Promised Land, God provided them with a heavenly food, called "manna" to eat.  Manna doesn't exist today, but based upon the biblical description, it appears to be a flour or meal of sort, from which cakes were made.  It may not have been prime rib, but it was what they needed to survive.  God had instructed them not to store any of it.  Instead He would  provide for them on a daily basis. 

It wasn't enough.  Eventually, the Israelites complained to their leader Moses.  They were sick of manna.  But some of them decided that they would save it, just in case.  "What if God skips a day with the manna?  How will I feed my family?  What if He doesn't give me enough?  I should save some up, just in case.  Sure, He said for us not to do it.  But He couldn't have really meant it.  Who does He think He is anyway, God?"

And blah, blah, blah.

We might read these stories and say, "I would never do that.  If God told me to do something, of course I would obey Him."  We might look at the Israelites as prideful and foolish.  After all, how smart is it to disobey God?

Here's the point.  We all do exactly the same thing.  We do what the nation of Israel did, time and time again.  God provides exactly what we need, but it isn't enough.  We have to take matters into our own hands, just in case He doesn't. 

God wants one thing from us.  He wants us to have faith in Him.  If we have faith in Him, the rest of it- obedience, resisting temptation, loving others, dealing with all the bad stuff- anger, lust, gluttony, you name it; it will all take care of itself.

I do it every day.  Actually, I'm kidding myself.  I do it every hour.  Maybe even that is an exaggeration.  I fall out of faith and turn to myself to deal with something, about every ten seconds. 

The hardest thing to do, but the most important thing we can do is to remain in a faith relationship with God.  We have faith in His plan.  His plan required His Son to be sacrificed for the sins of all mankind.  We have faith that Jesus paid the price, for every single sin I have committed and ever will.  That faith frees us up to have faith in God for every single step that we take, from that point forward.  If our sins are forgiven, and our eternal salvation is assured, then the rest of our lives are simple window dressing by comparison.  Sure, we want to live as He wants us to live while were here on Earth for 70 or 80 years (assuming that we die of natural causes).  But in the grand scheme of things, our eternal life with Him, makes this life pretty unimportant, by comparison. 

So we respond in gratitude to Him.  We live as He wants us to live.  We read His word and pray to Him, to try and discern how He wants us to live.  And we try to do it every single second of every single day.

Anything else is like Adam and Eve.  Or, it's like the wandering nation of Israel, grumbling about manna.

And blah, blah, blah.

What if Heaven was like a hospital?  The hospital is filled will all kinds of sick people.  Some of the patients are seriously ill.  These people have cancer.  The hospital does all that it can to treat them.  Doctors administer chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  In some cases, radical surgery is necessary.   Organs are removed in order to give these victims a chance at life.  But nothing seems to be working.  The cancer simply and relentlessly keeps coming back. 

Eventually, the patients grow weary of the exhausting and debilitating treatments.  They begin to give up hope.  For them, life ibecomes a constant state of dread, sadness and worry.

But one day, something miraculous happens.  On that day, every single patient is cured of cancer.  Through testing, the doctors confirm it.  Each one of the doomed people is now somehow and inexplicably cancer-free.

Imagine how these formerly terminal patients would feel.  They have been given new lives.  Hopelessness is replaced with an incredible sense of joy and wonder.  Now think about their problems.  They probably still have mortgages and car payments.   People still cut them off in traffic and conversations.  There lives are, in a way, exactly the same as they were before their illness.  They still have problems, worry and fears.

But something has changed.  Their problems just don't seem the same as they did before, in comparison with what they were facing when they were sick. They find themselves willing to forgive others more readily.  In a way, they won a lottery of sorts and everything else pales in comparision.  They didn't do anything to earn their healing.  It was a miraculous free gift.

What if you were suddenly given a similar gift?  But instead of being a gift of life, it was a gift of eternal life.   What if Someone gave you a free ticket to an eternal life of happiness, comfort and peace in an almost indescribably wonderful setting?

Chances are, the things of this life would concern you less.  You would probably realize that, relatively speaking, you would have only a few years left here on Earth.  You would most likely begin to anticipate your afterlife.  When people cut you off in traffic, or in the middle of a sentence, you wouldn't mind as much.  You would probably put it all into an eternal perspective.  Knowing that your eternal destiny was assured, you wouldn't sweat the small stuff, or much of anything else for that matter.

One other thing:  if this happened to you, you probably wouldn't be able to contain yourself.  You would feel compelled to share this almost too good to be true news with others. You'd  want them to take advantage of this free gift..

What if?

Right now, I'm struggling a bit.  I'll explain why in  a minute.  You may know that I have recently finished the final draft of "The Reasonable Person- Due Process of Law, Logic and Faith" and am presently seeking a publisher for the book.  The book is intended to accomplish a couple of things.  Most importantly, I hope it demystifies Christianity, especially for people who  didn't grow up in church.  And I hope that it provides a logical framework with which to analyze the claims of Christianity.  After reading it, you should be able to determine what you believe, at least as to God, and why you believe it.

I have a theory that, at least to some extent, modern Christianity has recreated a Pharisaical-like structure, as the faith has become increasingly organized.  In Jesus' time, the Jewish establishment, the Pharisees, had created an intricate and complex system of rules and requirements that had to be followed.  Or, at least all those claiming to be good Jews had to follow them.  They were the self-appointed gatekeepers to God.  The rules included requirements like ritual washing and bathing, in order to be clean enough to enter the  temple.  And they included the giving of alms and other similar rule, which at least in theory, gave one a better chance at Heaven.

Jesus came along and challenged the system.  He said that what was on people's hearts mattered much more than following rules.  He said that it was most important to love God, and to love your fellow man.  The Pharisees hated Jesus.  They constantly tried to trip him up.  The funny thing though, is that they never did.  They had studied the Hebrew Bible since childhood, were from the best families and had gone to the best schools.  Jesus was a carpenter from Galilee.  And Galilee was sort of the Appalachia of the Middle East.  Most civilized people thought that not much good could ever come from there.

In many of our Christian churches today, we've created similar systems.  You have to know when to stand, when to kneel and whether it's "trespasses" or "debts."   Some congregations prohibit musical instruments in worship.  Others require baptism.  And still others create new rules by throwing out all of the old ones.  You can spot these groups because everyone wheres bermudas and flip flops to church.  They've turned the rules on their end.  But like the hippies of the '60s, eventually the societal majority emulates these "rebels" and they become mainstream.  Think of the Beatles song "Revolution" as elevator Muzak. 

In any of these cases, the issue is that there are insiders and outsiders.  And the insiders want to stay insiders.  It's not that they are necessarily trying to prevent outsiders from participating.  It's simply more a case of they like things the way they are.  They don't want anyone to change their "system."  It's comfortable and they like comfort.

Which brings me to why I'm struggling right now.    As I explained at the beginning of this post, I've recently finished the final draft of "The Reasonable Person."  I've spent almost five years of my life working on it.  I've written it while working in a very demanding in-house practice and being a husband and dad as well.  The book has over 500 footnotes and I have painstakingly provided scriptural reference to every substantial assertion contained in the book.  I wrote the book for one reason and ironically, it's for the same reason that I wrote my first book, "Law School Labyrinth- The Guide to Making the Most of Your Legal Education" (Kaplan Publishing, 2d Ed., May 3, 2012).   I wrote Labyrinth to help struggling law students.  I wrote The Reasonable Person" to help non-Christians who are struggling with finding meaning in their lives, and to help Christians who are struggling with their faith.

I've asked two preachers in Nashville mega-churches to take a look at the manuscript.  I didn't ask them to review it.  I didn't ask them to endorse it.  I didn't even ask them to read the entire book.  I asked them to take a look at it.  I asked them to take a look at it for one reason.  I wanted a doctrinal perspective on the book.  In other words, I wanted them to look at the book and tell me whether the felt that it was built upon sound biblical doctrine.  I'm a lawyer and not a theologian.  The book is written from a lawyer's perspective.  So, I wanted to make sure that someone with clergy credentials had "blessed" it (in the vernacular, and  not as a pun).

The funny thing is, both had virtually the exact same response.  It was almost as if they were responding from a script.  Each of them said, "Thanks, but I've got too much on my plate right now."

And I struggle with that.  I  struggle with it because we've all got too much on our plates these days.  The secret is to figure out what is important and invest your time in it.  A person can run in hundreds of directions, chasing this and responding to that.  But a person who has an impact knows how to decide what their life's purpose is and do all that they can to fulfill that purpose.  I believe that God has a purpose for me, and I believe He has provided the Holy Spirit to help me accomplish it.  So, I spend a lot of my quiet time doing all that I can to hear Him and try to discern His will.  And I believe He wanted me to tell the story contained in "The Reasonable Person." 

"The Reasonable Person" is intended to demystify Christianity.  I feel that we have overcomplicated the subject, which really only deals with a couple of things.  God loves me and He loves you.  He sent His Son Jesus to live among us, teach us and provide an example for how He wants us to live.  He became one of us.  God was one of us.  And when that part of Jesus' mission was completed, God allowed Jesus to be sacrificed as payment, once and for all, for the sins of every single person.  It righted the cosmic scales forever.  The blood of God outweighed the sum total  of every sin that man could ever commit.  He paid for my sins and He paid for your sins.  It's what Christians call a "free gift."  All you have to do is receive it through faith in Him.  It's really not that mysterious.

I don't know, I suppose that there are people who would prefer that it remain mysterious.  There certainly were those people, the Pharisees, in Jesus' time.  The mystery preserved the status quo.  And it meant job security for them.  But God doesn't want gatekeepers.  Jesus welcomed everyone- sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and I suppose even lawyers.  God wants every single person to come to Him.

So, I suppose the book will have to go to print without being "blessed."  But I'm okay with that.  And somehow, I think He is as well.

You know who I'm talking about.  You might even be one of them.  "Wrong side of the tracks" Christians are people who, despite accepting Jesus as their savior, continue to struggle with sin and doubt.  They probably didn't grow up going to church.  They may have had very difficult lives.  Perhaps they grew up in dysfunction such as alcoholism or abuse.  They may carry deep emotional scars.  They think of themselves as being from the wrong side of the spiritual tracks.

They see people in church who are dressed nicely and seem so happy. Wrong side of the tracks Christians think that they don't measure up.  This causes them to avoid committing to a church or really getting invested in it.  They go to church to worship but get out as quickly as they can, hoping that they won't be noticed.  Of course, the truth is that we are all broken.  We've all got issues.  And only God can really fix them.

Their self-deception is reinforced unintentionally by others.  We get caught up in their various "care groups" or "life groups" or "worship groups" or whatever other term currently in vogue with contemporary Christian churches.  These "right side of the tracks" Christians are in the middle of all of it.  They are in the mainstream.  They are surrounded by support and Christian friendship. 

However, in today's mega-churches, people can get lost.  Wrong side of the tracks Christians are especially vulnerable.  They walk in the door with an open heart.  But they can be made to feel unwelcome.  A friend of mine joined a church a few years ago that had substituted its Sunday night service for smaller "life groups".  These were smaller groups that met at church members' homes; an alternative to formal Sunday night worship.  Often, they consist of families that have known each other for years.  The problem, however, was that my friend never got invited to join a group.  Somehow, he got lost in the administrative shuffle.  It became a "by invitation only" worship meeting.  Eventually, he faded away.  His Christian journey was detoured by an administrative error.

American Christianity has always been concerned with outreach ministry.  Frequently, it takes the form of charitable and missionary support in an undeveloped country.  This is a spiritual "no-brainer" in that we help deal with that countries immediate an pressing  needs- clean water, food, clothing, shelter and medical care.  And there are often Christians at the forefront of these efforts.  They give selflessly of their time and are personally involved in helping those less fortunate.  Katie Davis, of Amazima Ministries is a perfect example of this selflessness.  She takes this type of ministry to a new level.  She moved to Uganda and became a foster mom to kids who need her in every possible way.  Katie has clearly put her money where her mouth is.  Hers is an "up close and personal" ministry. 

The rest of us typically give money.  I'm not knocking money.  We all work hard for it and giving to charity is certainly one form of Christian sacrifice.  Without money, Katie couldn't do what she does.  You might be thinking, "How on earth can I do what Katie Davis does?  I've got a job and a family to support.  I can't simply drop everything to get "up close and personal" with people.  All I can do is give money." 

And that brings me to the point.  You can do something.  And you can do it right where you are today.  All you have to do is one thing.  Look around you.  Look at people in your neighborhood.  Look at people at work.  Look at people in your church.  Chances are, there are people who need help.  There are probably some wrong side of the tracks Christians struggling.  You can help them. 

Another friend of mine became a Christian well into his forties.  I'm sure that this fact alone made him feel like he was from the wrong side of the spiritual tracks.  He could have easily slipped through the tracks at his church.  But that isn't what happened.  After his first confession of faith, the church leadership assigned him a "mentor." This mentor was a mature Christian, well along in his Christian knowledge, faith and development.  My friend explained that his mentor "was available anytime, 24/7 to answer any questions and deal with any issues I might have had."  This set my friend on the right path and today his faith is strong and his commitment to God is incredible.

So the next time you are in church, look around.  See if you can spot a wrong side of the tracks Christian.  And if you can't, they try this.  Find anyone.  Ask them how they are doing.  Ask them about their faith walk.  And then listen.  You might be surprised at what you hear.  And make up your mind to help others.  Then do it.  In big ways and small.  Find people around you that you can help.

After all, that's what Jesus did. 

I recently posted a quick story on Facebook about an incredible woman that I ran into recently.  I found myself somewhat stranded on a bike ride with my two little girls in the park and desperately in need of some help.  One of our bikes had gotten a flat and we needed to get back to the main entrance, about a half mile away, so that my wife could come get us.  The woman was jogging along and found us in our somewhat helpless situation.  She could have kept jogging.   She was right in the middle of her workout.  But she didn't.  Instead, she stopped and helped us.  She carried the bike back to the park entrance.

I'm pretty sure that she was a Christian.  We didn't talk much but her actions spoke much louder than her words.  Her human nature would have told her to keep on going past us.  After all, she probably had worked all day and was desperately in need of a run.   She seemed to be very fit, so I would imagine that she really relished her exercise and felt a bit guilty at not continuing.  But something selfless in her emerged.  Something in her caused her to not do what was likely in her nature, but instead to do something that was supernatural. 

The human condition is, at its core, selfish.  We want.  We need.  And we put us first.  The supernatural condition is to get past this.  It's to move from "me" to "you".  And that's exactly what this woman did.  The interesting thing is, that my Facebook post prompted a number of responses from my friends, with similar stories.  And the protagonists in these stories were either self-described Christians or missionaries.

I'm not saying that only Christians can be selfless.  I'm just saying that selflessness isn't really a human trait.  And it's interesting to me that in these stories, the common thread appeared to be Christ.  Of course, I'll never know for sure.  I can't see into anyone's heart.  I can only make assumptions, based upon  their behaviors, in a circumstantial way.

At the end of my post, I assured my friends that as to this random act of kindness, by a complete stranger, I would "pay it forward."  This phrase has gained popularity recently for who knows what reason.  But I find it very fitting in these circumstances.  Kindness begets kindness.   But it also reminds me that the only way anyone could ever deduce what I believe is as a result of the way I act.  If I act selfishly, they will conclude one thing.  If I act in an unselfish way, it will likely lead to a different conclusion.

Certainly, there are plenty of non-Christians who might have acted the same way as this woman did.  But they would have done it for a different reason.  Perhaps they would have considered it the "right" thing to do.  Or maybe they are simply good people who have high moral standards and try to live their lives the best way that they can.

But I believe this woman acted the way she did because she knew that it was the way that Jesus acted.  And she believed that He would have wanted her to act this way.  And His Holy Spirit provided the tools to do so.  And at that moment, with her having helped me and my children out of an extremely bad spot, I would have done just about anything for that woman.  But she didn't really need anything from me.  And so, I decided then and there, that I would "pay it forward."

And that's one of the common threads in Christian faith.  Jesus acted unselfishly.  Even the secular, historical literature acknowledges this.  But Christians believe that Jesus took unselfishness to a new level.  He died so that we don't have to.  He bore the punishment for every sin ever committed.  He reconciled humanity with God.  He didn't defend Himself.  He knew that His death was a necessary part of God's eternal plan for mankind.  He allowed Himself to be crucified.  He did if for me.  And He did it for you.

To a non-Christian, it must all sound so barbaric.  God sacrificed His own Son, so that mankind could have the hope of salvation from its sinful condition.  But the truth is that it was self-sacrifice.  We believe that Jesus was God, in a human form.  So, He could have called legions of angels to avoid this horrible death.  He could have snapped His fingers and turned His accusers into toads.  But He didn't do what His human nature wanted to do.  Instead, He allowed it all to happen.  The Creator of the Universe allowed His creatures to beat Him, torture Him, humiliate Him and kill Him in a slow, agonizing way. 

He did it because He knew that it was the only way, to address the problem of sin that accompanies the free will that He had purposefully built into to his creatures.  It makes sense to me.  After all, how interesting would it be to create a world of robots that I programmed to do what I wanted them to do.  That seems pretty junior league for Someone who created everything.  Instead, I think I would create humanity with free will and the power to choose.  And I would do it because I would know that ultimately I would arrange for this incredible self-sacrifice.  I would know that some of my creatures would respond that that sacrifice, out of free will, and in gratitude.  And that response would determine truly who my creatures were. 

And we would all pay it forward.

I have to confess, I can be a pretty cynical  person.  On the other hand, in  my defense, in today's world it's pretty easy to become jaded.  It seems as if our entire political system has degenerated into a melange of posturing, sound bites and strategy.  Politicians, even the good ones, don't say anything that they really believe, for fear of offending some segment of the electorate.

It seems like everyone has an agenda.  Lately, there have been a lot of "Wall Street" protests.  "Tax the Rich" is their battle cry.  It's in vogue again to hate corporations and, for that matter, capitalism.  A lot of people subscribe to Robin Hood's mantra- "steal from the rich and give to the poor."

But the truth is, it's not so simple. 

Jesus boiled His entire platform down to two rules:  (1) love God with everything you have; and (2) love people. I've previously blogged about it.  Some of the relgious elite, trying to trap Jesus, asked Him which was the greatest commandment.  There were thousands of commandments described in the Septuagint, in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.  Asking Jesus this was akin to the classic, no win, "when did you stop beating your wife" question.  But somehow, He cut through all it, with these two simple commands.  Love God and love man. Loving God is the greatest commandment.  Loving your fellow man is the second greatest commandment.

You'll notice the new link to the left of this blog post, to a website called "Amazima".  Amazima is a not for profit organization, founded by a 22-year old Brentwood, Tennessee woman, Katie Davis.  I don't  know her.  I've never met her. I am not affiliated in any way with Amazina.  But I read about it and am amazed.

One day, not too long ago, Katie  took a trip to Uganda.  She planned to stay for a while and then go to college.  When she saw the poverty and conditions in which Ugandan children live, she decided to stay.  Katie founded Amazina Ministries when she was 19 years old.  She is currently raising 13 Ugandan children on her own.  Amazina feeds 1600 children and sends 400 orphans to a Christian school.  She's not going to college.

When I read about Katie, I thought about what I would have done when I was her age.  I would have been thinking about college.  I would have been thinking about my career.  I might have entertained the idea of going to law school.  I would have been thinking about cars.  I would have been thinking about girls.  The last thing I would have considered would be raising 13 Ugandan children, alone.

I'm also a Brentwood, Tennessee resident.  Brentwood is an affluent community, populated by lawyers, country music stars, executives and other successful people.  I imagine Katie grew up, having a pretty nice life.  But she gave it all up to help others.

Katie Davis has obviously decided to honor Jesus' second commandment.  She describes it as "loving one person at a time."  But I'm betting that she's doing it because she is honoring his first commandment as well.  Katie loves man because Katie loves God.

Amazina's website is at http://www.amazima.org/history.html if you want to read more about it.