Candy Store Christianity

            I am a lover of all things candy.  It’s a lifelong fascination.  From penny candies to elegant chocolates, hard candies to luscious caramel, I have found few to hate and many to love.  The appeal of a candy store is overwhelming.  I have fond childhood memories of visiting stores with entire aisles dedicated to the display of brightly wrapped and colored candy where I could mix and match my own special bag.  Half the joy was being able to choose only what I wanted and leave behind those I found less enjoyable.  In a recent moment of contemplation, it was impossible to miss the comparison between my candy shopping and today’s brand of Christianity.

            The concept of Christianity in today’s world is so different than the one that was prevalent when I was a child.  Back then we believed the Bible was the indisputable Word of God, meaning that we believed it all.  Heaven and hell.  Faith and doubt.  Sin and salvation.  Every miracle.  Every promise.  Every commandment.  God said it and that settled it.  We sought God and found him.  Not a Band-Aid for our conscience, but true repentance in faith rewarded with salvation and honest change.  I still subscribe to these beliefs. 

            Society does not.  Today’s special brand of Christianity seems to be the candy store shopping variety.  They pick and choose what they want to believe, cast in doubt the things they can’t explain, completely leave out the parts that make them uncomfortable, and busily “interpret” words Jesus spoke although the original meaning was crystal clear. Beware. This is candy store Christianity and the Bible is not a Pick-A-Mix event.  Treating it as such has led many to the same place as the church of Laodicea referenced in Revelation 3—neither hot nor cold, simply lukewarm Christians.  Or perhaps better stated, they have a form of Godliness, but lack the true spirit thereof. (II Timothy 3:5)  Whatever the case, it has weakened today’s churches and, in turn, today’s society.

 The damage is terrifying.  As the general public attempts to conform the Bible to society our churches fall apart, our values disintegrate, confusion reigns, and Satan has a heyday.  Young adults, heady and haughty with their newly acquired adulthood, are being blown about by all the differing opinions about God’s Word.  Some of them abandon it altogether.  Others create their own beliefs concerning its legitimacy. The few who hold to its absolute truth are often rejected by their peers.  Sadly, many of the older adults who should be leading the charge to salvage true Christianity are busy rewriting it to be more palatable. Society spirals downward and, while everyone remarks about how out of hand things are, they fail to make the connection between this spiraling event and the decided turn from true Christianity to the candy store variety. 

There is grave cause for concern because, whether we choose to believe it or not, the Bible is true from start to finish. None of Jesus’ instructions began with “If you feel like it” or ended with “Just kidding”.  The Ten Commandments may have been written in Old Testament times, but they are still wholly in effect.  Every. Single. One.  The Bible is still the high road.  Being unpopular doesn’t negate its truth.  Re-interpretations do not change its original purpose.  And the only way to get to Heaven is still through that one door—Jesus Christ. 

            I want to make it to Heaven.  Honestly, I want everyone to make it to Heaven.  But there is no back entrance; you have to go through the main door, Jesus Christ (John 10:9).  And to get through the main door, you have to believe in Jesus, accept him into your heart, and base your life in the eternal, irrefutable, unchangeable truth of the Bible. You can’t sneak in the back door, you can’t ride the wave of someone else’s experience, you can’t let society determine your Christianity, and you absolutely can’t make it on your own. 

            So don’t be deceived.  Don’t be driven about with every doctrine that comes along.  Read your Bible.  Know what it says. Believe it. Like the Psalmist, follow hard after God. (Psalms 63:8) Resist the forces of Satan that consistently try to draw you aside. Purpose in your heart to live true Christianity and firmly state with Joshua, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15) Only after these things will we be able to reclaim our families, our churches, our society for Jesus Christ.

            And may we do just that. May we leave behind the candy store Christianity and cleave to Christ alone.  May he make us Christians in every possible way.  May our lives distinctly portray our choice.  Most of all, may we take back our world for Christ.