Lunch: Maniacs Fried Chicken and Fries
Dinner: Publix Chocolate Milk
Atheism in Relationships
Last night at church pastor Alex Seeley shared an interesting story of how her friend once called her an atheist.
I don't know pastor Alex very well but from the few times I've heard her speak I can confidently say she's one of the most radical and passionate Christian's I've met in awhile. She's from Australia and she's an "in your face and I'm not going to apologize about it" kind of Christian. Which is awesome. And which also makes me wonder that if she's being called an atheist, what the heck am I?!
So pastor Alex went on to explain more about the situation. She shared how there was an area of her life that she had struggled with for over 30 years. A simple bad habit. And her friend called her out saying that if she truly believed in God and his unfathomable power, then there would be no more excuses to continue practicing this bad habit. Her friend said that allowing this bad habit to rule her for 30 years was no different than atheism, because it undermined God's power over her life.
If you don't believe God is big enough to fix everything, then you don't believe in God.
Today I had lunch with some of my bestest Nashville bros. These two bachelors are both in their 30's working cush jobs, making bank, and they absolutely fall into the "Nice Guy" category. They both shared stories of recent situations where they were in relationships with girls who eventually went a little crazy and broke things off. The reason they both got from these girls was, "I'm not good enough for you. I don't deserve this."
When I heard these guys share their stories my mind immediately went back to the message Alex shared last night. The girls they had been dating were atheists. Not actual atheists of course, but they were putting God in a box. At one point they may have told themselves that they had received grace from God but they didn't allow that to diffuse into the other areas of their lives. They didn't accept the fact that God is everything and he not only fixes people but he fixes our place in this world as well, our place in relationships. What was once unworthy does not receive grace and stay unworthy. Living with that mindset is basically like slapping God in the face.
I think one of the reasons we experience broken relationships in life is because, despite already receiving grace, we allow this idea of "unworthiness" to creep in; we allow it to make us atheists. It's what happens when we let the world influence our attitudes towards one another, rather than reflecting God and who He is. So for me, this whole situation serves as a reminder to be the person in the relationship who reflects God's grace and to allow that grace to influence the relationship, rather than the world. When someone tells you they're undeserving don't just remind them of all the reasons they matter to you, remind them of all the reasons He is who He says He is, and that He says they are worthy.
Cause you either believe it or you don't.
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