Growing in our understanding

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever (2 Peter 3:18).

Our society has grown up around TV. Television is a part of everyone’s life; it is a major source of news and entertainment, and sometimes it can even be educational. So I got to wondering: can different types of television shows help us understand Christianity? I think perhaps they can.

Christianity is like a crime drama. Such shows consist of two parts. First, there is the investigation of a crime. What laws were broken? Who are the perpetrators, and why did they do it? This is followed by an arrest and trial. Are the defendants sorry for the hurt they’ve caused? What is an appropriate sentence?

Christianity tells a similar story. It starts with a crime. The crime might be anything from feeling jealous to having an affair; it could range from swearing at someone to punching them in the face. Whatever the crime, it is a breaking of God’s Laws—that you should ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, `Love your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27).

Who is the perpetrator? You already know the answer—you are the one who has failed to obey God’s law in all ways and at all times. You are the one who skipped worshipping God to go to the lake; you are the one who has yelled at a parent, lied to a teacher, took something that didn’t belong to you.

Why did you do it? Maybe you resented being told what you should and should not do. Maybe you did it for a thrill. Maybe your desires overwhelmed your good sense, at least for a while. But whatever your motivation, it does not justify your crime—not in God’s eyes.

God knows you are a perpetrator, and the day of your court appearance is set—on the day you die, you will appear before the judge of heaven for sentencing. But the final verdict will depend on your relationship with your court-appointed defense attorney. Paul writes in Romans chapter 8: Christ Jesus…is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. If you meet with Jesus before your day in court and tell Him how sorry you are for all your crimes, He will do something remarkable before sentence is passed—He will approach the bench and speak to His Father on your behalf; He will reveal the exhibit of a cross, stained with His blood, as proof that the hellish punishment earned by your crimes has already been served by the Son of God. Based on this evidence, He will move that your case be dismissed, and you will enter heaven cleared of all charges.

Christianity is also like a makeover show. Each segment begins by showing us someone who needs the help of an expert. They might have a room that is a disorganized mess; maybe their house is in desperate need of repair; or maybe they have no sense for fashion. What they have in common is this—they all agree that change is needed. So the professionals swoop in and give them a makeover.

Christianity tells a similar story. It starts with a person who needs a makeover—that person is you. Maybe your life is cluttered with things that keep you busy but leave you confused, lost or uncertain of how things should be. Maybe your life is falling apart around you, and you feel vulnerable and afraid. Or maybe you just don’t know how to act when you are around other people, and you always feel awkward or foolish. Whatever the problem is, you know that change is needed.

God is the expert just waiting for you to realize that you need help. When you open the door of your heart to Him, He comes in and helps you sort through the many things cluttering your life. He gives you the ability to look at each possession and determine whether it can help you to achieve a worthwhile goal or only serves as a distraction; He guides you in sorting out which of your activities are important and which are merely wasting your time.

Jesus was raised to be a Master Carpenter. If your life seems to be collapsing like an old neglected house, the Savior can help you renovate. He will forgive you for all your mistakes that have brought you to the point of collapse; He will rebuild your life according to His blueprint, resulting in a future that is solid and secure in the face of every storm.

The Spirit of God can show you what is morally right and mentally healthy; with His wisdom giving clarity to your thinking, you can live life with confidence. Instead of feeling awkward and foolish around others, you’ll discover that God has given you an inner beauty that enables you to feel good about yourself.

In 1st Corinthians Paul writes: Don't you know that you…are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? God spares no expense when He gives you His makeover; after all, He desires to live in your heart, and the Lord of the universe deserves only the very best accommodations.

Another TV show that can teach us about Christianity is the medical drama. A medical drama introduces us to a seemingly endless stream of patients, all afflicted with some sort of health problem. Some know they are sick and will do anything to be cured. Some are so busy pursuing their goals that they ignore even the most alarming symptoms until they find themselves at death’s door. Some don’t like doctors or are scared of hospitals and so put off treatment for far too long. And some who have been given sound medical advice ignore their treatments, soon ending up in worse shape than before. But they all have this in common: without the doctor’s healing touch, they will soon experience the chilling grasp of death.

Christianity tells a similar story. We are all infected by a plague, the disease called ‘sin.’ God would love to welcome us into His magnificent home, but not if we are carrying this plague. So the Lord offers us medical treatment through His Son, the Great Physician. If we let Jesus treat us, we can enter heaven cured of sin; however, if we refuse treatment, we will spend eternity quarantined in hell.

Why would anyone refuse treatment? Some are so busy with all the things going on in their lives that they don’t notice the symptoms of sin—dysfunctional relationships, constant pursuit of pleasure with no lasting satisfaction, self-destructive behaviors, and the like. If they are too busy to see that their lives are falling apart around them, then they will not make time for treatment by the Great Physician. Others refuse treatment because they don’t like Jesus or going to church; they resent anyone—even the Lord—who dares tell them hard truths that they don’t want to hear. And there are those who have listened to Jesus but then ignored His prescribed treatments; they are having too much fun living life as they see fit, to give up those things that are hastening their spiritual death.

Thankfully, not everyone reacts this way. There are many who fear eternal quarantine and desperately want to be freed from the illness that is killing them. These are the patients who will be healed; these are the ones who will benefit from Jesus’ promise that they will have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).

And the life of a Christian is like a soap opera. A soap opera is all about relationships. It features a large cast of characters interconnected in a variety of ways—blood relations, friendships, business dealings, and, of course, romance. Each episode shows how people forge relationships with each other, ruin relationships by selfish behavior, and search desperately for a way to repair what they have broken.

Christianity tells a similar story. Christianity is all about relationships—our relationship with God and our relationships with each other. Christians are interconnected in a variety of ways—through blood, through friendships, through business dealings, and through romance. Yet all of these relationships are in constant turmoil. Relatives argue and fight. Friends poison their relationship by taking advantage of each other. Business associates stab each other in the back in a quest for profit or promotion. Lovers split up rather than make compromises to preserve the relationship. The emotional fallout is terrible—feelings of hatred, of worthlessness, of loneliness, and a crippling fear of ever trusting again. And the question then becomes: how to patch things up?

All these relationship problems are rooted in our failed relationship with God. The Almighty made humanity to be His companions, friends forever, sharing paradise together. But we to want to be in control of our relationships, insisting on having our way, even if it is at the expense of others. God our Maker does not tolerate our substituting such arrogance for real love; and since we refuse to embrace God’s love in the purity of His design, there is no way that we can show true love to each other.

But God offers a solution. He wants us back as His beloved companions, so He sent Jesus as the ultimate expression of what true love is. In the love of Jesus, there is forgiveness and the healing of old hurts. In the love of Jesus, there is commitment to long term relationships. In the love of Jesus, there is a willingness to sacrifice gladly for the sake of others. In Jesus, we not only see what relationships can be, we can start experiencing the relationships with God and each other that should be. 1st John chapter 4 says, if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

Of course, no TV show can replace time with God’s inspired Word. It is only through the Bible that Jesus is revealed to us in complete purity and truth. It is only through the message of Christ and His followers that we can understand how one man’s death on a cross can result in forgiveness and eternal life for all who trust in Him. But some types of TV shows can help us see the messages of Christ from a new perspective. Peter urges us to continually grow in the faith, and we should seize every opportunity to do so.