Fly Tests

   The other day, Jason caught a fly by trapping it inside a drinking glass on our kitchen table. Classy, right? Because I didn't pick it up, it remained until the next day and then Jason and I had an idea. We had both always heard that flies only live for 24 hours and we decided to test this fact. Let me note that it was because of this information that, as a child, I captured flies that were in my house and set them free outside. I figured since they only had 24 hours to live, I shouldn't cut it shorter for them and I might as well let them enjoy the great outdoors. Turns out, this is not the truth at all, at least for house flies. Apparently mayflies and some obscure species of fly live for 24 hours, but most house flies live from 1 week to 2 months. Eek. Fortunately, our fly only lived for two days. 
   After the death of the fly, our little experiment got me thinking. The entire way I treated flies was based on false information, or at least falsely understood information. And this is a great problem in Christianity today. Our culture has lost its thirst for knowledge of true Christianity. We hear something once from a church or friend and assume that it must be complete truth. So rather than look further into the matter, we accept something either watered down or completely false.
   If you do not truly know Christianity for yourself, if you do not know what you believe and why, you will not know when someone is lying to you about Christianity. Faith like a child is a great thing, but it does not give us an excuse for ignorance. We are meant to ask questions and grow. I do not believe that we should trust everything we hear. Paul made a great command to the Philippians when he said, "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (2:12). You see, we are meant to work out our own salvation. Yes, listen to others and learn from them, but always, always do the work to be sure that their teachings are based on the Bible. If something sounds a little off, ask for a reference or search your Bible until you figure out what they were trying to say (and please correct them if they're wrong).
   Not only will you know when someone is speaking falsely, but the more you know about your beliefs, the more effective you will be in ministering. This is especially true when ministering to people who know why they don't believe in Christianity. Don't get me wrong, you will never have all the answers and you should not wait to tell someone about Christ because you are afraid they'll ask something you don't know. What I am speaking to here is that if you have been a Christian for a long time and can't answer to someone why you believe in Jesus, you need to do some research. In 1 Corinthians Paul said, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me" (13:11). Christians need to look at this and realize they need to become mature in their faith. We should be continually learning more and more about the personality of God. If your child, let's say an eight-year-old, has been going to school and has been taught by people you know to be incredible teachers how to read but cannot, you would be worried. How much more worried should we be when we have access to the Creator of the universe, to the teachings of his son on earth, but don't understand why we believe in him. 
   With the invention of the printing press, access to the Bible, and also the understanding of it, exploded. It exploded even more when the internet became so accessible. In the early churches, the believers received a letter from Paul and, if they were lucky enough to have a scribe, copied it down before sending it to another city. Most couldn't read and had to only listen and try to understand what was meant. We, on the other hand, have easy access to the Bible and other resources that explain the time periods in which it was written, along with what all the great scholars before have understood about specific passages. Yet we seem to know and understand far less. 
   Our culture needs to revive a thirst for understanding God. He is not a God that refuses to be known, but one that knows us intimately and wants a relationship with us. He tells us if we seek him, we will find him (Matthew 7:7). So let's start seeking. Many non-Christians I have spoken with have a lot of reasons for why they don't believe in Jesus. We need to be ready for those conversations. We need to be knowledgeable of what we believe and why. You won't have all the answers, but the more you learn about God, the more answers you should have. When you first meet someone, you may not know much about them, but if you have had a best friend for years, you know them pretty well, right? The relationship with God should work the same. So seek him and find him. Learn about him. Search through some resources and ask questions. Grow in him so that you can properly show him to the world. And know the truth so that you may recognize false teaching when you see it.