Chapter Six: A Hole in Me
If you’re still reading this book with me, you’ve surely discovered that it is a tough book. It isn’t a lightweight summer beach read; it is a manifesto, a proclamation for Christ’s followers to truly go all in with their commitment to Him.
At first I loved this chapter because I resonated with Mr. Stearns’ search for truth. I loved his depiction of how he became increasingly aware of the hole in his soul and began desperately searching for answers to the biggest, most troubling questions of the human heart. However, I felt profoundly challenged by what he said after he had affirmatively answered the question about Christ’s lordship. He wrote, “If Christ is not God incarnate (God in the flesh), then His teachings hold no more authority than those of Confucius, Dr. Phil, or Oprah…but if Christ is Lord, then nothing He asked us to do is optional. His teachings become the operational system of our lives.”[1]
He went on to say, “Jesus asks much more of us than just believing the right things.”[2] This hit close to home for me because I’ve been a believer for most of my life. My parents became Christians when I was just two years old, and some of my earliest memories are set against the backdrop of the church. However, admittedly my Christian beliefs haven’t always produced Christ-like action. I’m struggling with this book because of its consistent challenge, but I’m also excited because it’s when we go all in with our commitment to Jesus that we begin to discover the “life that is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19).
Are you excited for that increased life too?