Looking For Sparks: Lessons from a "Modern Day Drifter" - Lesson 2a

Have you ever known a lone-wolf Christian? I'm sure you have. Now here's an even more pertinent question, have you ever known an effective lone-wolf Christian? I’m going to say that you have not. And if you have, please, introduce this person to me. I truly want to meet them.

Why do I, with a great degree of certainty, say that you have never met an effective lone-wolf Christian? Well, in a nut shell, the very idea of a lone-wolf Christian is antithetical to the nature of Christianity. Christianity is, and always has been, a relationship based belief system that is structured around dependency. Most notably on our dependency as fallen beings on an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving Creator God who has, for the purpose of redeeming His helpless creation (us), revealed himself through

• Primarily: His inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word
• Secondary: His natural revelation in His creation, specifically through: nature and the commonality of the human condition expressed in the need of a redeemer

Even the Old Testament Jews were known by God through a relationship. Don’t believe me? Well, they were God’s chosen people (Ex 19) for one. In fact, the very word for "lovingkindness" used in the Old Testament is often times the Hebrew word that evokes the image of a covenantal relationship between God and his chosen people.

Therefore, our dependence upon God is paramount in our Christian life. However, to say that our dependency upon God is the only kind of fellowship necessary in the Christian life is preposterous.

If I have learned one thing in all of my travels, it is the need to surround myself with believers who have, what I call, that special “spark”. Notice that I didn’t stop at the need to surround myself with believers. If you walk away from this blog with the notion that you merely need to surround yourself with believers, you’ve missed the point. Surrounding ourselves with fellow believers is a given (Heb 10:23-25). But so is being in the midst of nonbelievers (Matt 28:18-20).

What I’m speaking of, is surrounding yourselves with people who are so in love with Jesus, that they are just about glowing with the radiance of God. (Example A: Moses and God Mono y Mono) (Example B: Stephen’s Appology)

These guys were literally glowing (well, Moses was at least) from the Glory of God. Think about it... It got to the point that Moses actually started wearing a veil (backfired later) because he freaked out the assembly when they saw him. I mean, they couldn't say, "Moses, have you been standing too close to the nuclear reactor again?", now could they? Nope, they were like, "Yo dude, you're kinda freakin us out here with the whole shining face deal." Now, I don't know anyone who is so close to the Lord that they actually glow. I'm not gonna lie, that'd freak me out to.

But there is another kind of spark inside of us. That is the life that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. Check out Jeremiah 20:9. Even though the Holy Spirit had not yet been given at that time, I think that he illustrates quite well what I'm talking about.

You need to look for those people who have that "burning fire" inside of them that is uncontrollable. AND YOU NEED TO DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THEM TO BE APART OF YOUR LIFE!!! I'm going to speak about the various kinds of examples that the Bible gives us as far as what these relationships might look like in my next post, but I can not impress upon you how important it is to get these kind of people in your life.

Find people who have something different about their personality, character, love for the Lord, and even about how they carry and present themselves to others.

Here's some things that you may consider when trying to get involved in the life of people who you think have that special spark:

• Ask them to dinner to get to know them better: Guys, it is perfectly ok for you to ask another guy out to dinner (for this purpose). Probably don't want to phrase it like that, but you already know that. And if it's someone of the opposite sex, be casual and upfront. For Pete's sake, you're trying to get to know them, not ask them out on a date. If you're afraid that your intentions may be skewed or misinterpreted for some reason or another, let them know up front that you would just like to get to know them.
• Find out what their interests are and ask them to help you with whatever that interest may be: But only do this if you happen to at least somewhat share this interest. I love golf, so I may ask someone to go play golf... two stepping, etc.
• Engage in conversation with them... AND LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY! This is probably not that big of an issue. I mean, if you've asked a person to hang out with you because you believe that there is something different about them, you're more than likely going to want to hear what the person has to say.
• Invite them over to watch the big game/fight/whatever: Here's a shoe-in for all the guys out there that aren't quite comfortable asking some dude we don't really know to have dinner at IHop with us. (Girls don't seem to have this problem) Have a grill out and smoke some dogs on the grill and invite them to come over for the game. If your in Texas, its an automatic yes.

Here's an all around good rule for doing whatever it takes to get these certain people as apart of your life. Be friendly. If for some reason they are too busy or can't sew into your life for some various reason or another, move on. That sucks, but you can't force companionship. Some people you hit it off with, and some you don't. I just want to reassure you that you are not going to develop relationships by being a stalker.

Remember that your relationship with Christ is of chief importance, and that your relationship to fellow believers is secondary, albeit vital. Seek after the Lord with the entirety of your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), seek Him and His kingdom first (Matt 6:33), and delight yourself in Him (Ps 37:4) and He will put these kinds of people in your path.

-Jeff