Stuff Christian (Girls) Like

OK, so SCL had a guest post by John Crist about Stuff Christian (Guys) Like. I would like to offer my rebuttal:

*(Please note this is all tongue-in-cheek!)

Stuff Christian (Girls) Like:

Let’s face it—adages are often repeated because there is always some grain of truth in them.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder—yep! We’ve all seen the guy/girl who’s married WAY up. All that glitters is not gold—yep! We’ve all had our dream date only to find that a pretty smile and blank stares can only keep you interested for SO long. And girls always like the bad boys—yep. We all know the girl who thought she could “turn” him back to God. Many of us WERE the girl who thought we could “turn” him back to God.

Good girls, well, we like the bad boy, but we Christian girls LOVE the reformed bad boy. But how can you tell if he’s a bad boy or (to quote one of the biggest put downs from high school) a poser?

So here is MY Reformed Bad Boy Score Card:

Drives a motorcycle: +5 points

Drives an SUV/Truck: +0 points

Drives a sedan: -2 points

Drives a Prius: -5 points

Has at least one item made of leather in their wardrobe: +3 points

Has at least one pair of pleated khaki’s: -3 points

5 O’clock shadow because he just rolled out of bed: +2 points

5 O’clock shadow that has been groomed: -2 points

Plays the guitar: +3 points

Plays World of Warcraft: -3 points

Spent some time in rehab (substance or alcohol) AND kicked the habit: +2 points

Spent some time in rehab (physical therapy): +0 points

(EXCEPTION: If physical rehab was a direct result of motorcycle accident: +5 points)

Has a few years of Jr. College under his belt: +1 point per year

Has NO higher education under his belt: +3 points (Flat rate)

Has at least one story about a scar that begins with “I was riding on my bike when…” and he’s referring to his motor cycle: +2 points

Has at least one story about a scar that begins with “I was riding on my bike when…” and he’s referring to his Huffy: -1 point

(EXCEPTION: Mountain biking: +1 point)

Doesn’t need product to make his hair look tousled: +2 points

Needs product to make his hair lay down: -2 points

Spends 30 minutes using product to make his hair look tousled: -5 points

Doesn’t believe in social media: +7 points

(EXCEPTION: Has a Facebook account ONLY to keep up with his friends from his multiple backpacking/missions trips around the world: +2 points)

Has a Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest account: -3 points PER ACCOUNT. Double for Pinterest.

Facebook profile pic is the generic blue man: +4 points

Facebook profile pic is of his dog: +0 points

Facebook profile pic is of him with ANYONE else: -4 points

(EXCEPTION: Profile pic is of him and his mom: +1 point)

So there he is—the golden (reformed) bad boy of the sanctuary. What is on your “Reformed Bad Boy Score Card?”

Pitiful Chooser:

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let that grace now like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
*Public Domain

If I have one strong childhood church memory it would be singing "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" in Korean church. I don't know why it is such a strong pull but every time I hear it I am transported back to Hai Yun Dai Baptist Church and the cold, hard, brown, wooden pews. It is such a vivid memory that I can't help be feel like I am 7 again. I can hear the piano and organ in the background as the congregation shuffled to their feet to sing. It was such a staple to me--I often *think* I remember it being sung every Sunday in Korean church. I am sure it was not…

It was not until adulthood that this song began to mean something more than a fond memory to me--until I truly experienced the proneness to wander and the unfailing redeeming love of God. My favorite verse of the song is the 3rd verse, quoted above. I love this verse because I think it exemplifies the struggle man faces when it comes to a relationship with God. (Side note--it is the only verse that has remained unchanged from the original over the last 250+ years.)

Robert Robinson penned Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing at the ripe old age of 22. Yep--he wrote one of the most profound hymns at the age of 22. When I was 22, the only thing I wrote was my name at the bottom of the credit card receipt. At the age of 22, Robinson had more understanding of God than most people do at 72. He understood several things about God and Man. Things I have struggled my entire life to know. He knew that:

1) We as humans are pitiful: In the original version of the song he says, "Sorrowing I shall be in spirit, Till released from flesh and sin." He understood that as humans our very nature was in direct opposition to God and that causes our sorrow--that natural inclination to sin. When will our souls find true peace? When we are released from flesh and sin. We can be released from sin before being released from our flesh, but none of us can maintain that purity because of our flesh. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love."

2) We as humans have the free will to choose: There are so many references in this hymn to our freedom to choose--though many of those references refer to asking God to take that choice away--"Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wandering from the fold of God," "Let thy goodness, like a fetter, Bind my wandering heart to thee," and "Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above." When I hear these phrases I think of one theme--God, I love you and I don't want to mess it up, so take me, take my will, take my heart. I give it to you freely and know that in your hands, all is well. The only problem with that is when I change my mind. Which I do often. Because I am pitiful. Like the song says, I am prone to wander. And God lets me, because He is God. He doesn't want me, my will and my heart if it's not an offering. Though I may wish to be leg shackled to God, God doesn't roll that way.

3) And even though we are pitiful choosers, God's grace is enough: "Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise," "He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood," and "Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by thy great help I've come; And I hope, by thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home." The words don't say, "Streams of mercy, dribbling past me," or "He sometimes rescues me from danger…" No! God's grace and mercy are in abundance and are always available. His grace, to quote a current praise song, is enough. His grace will always provide. In Hebrew, Ebenezer literally means, "stone of help" and is often biblically translated to mean "God has led us thus far." If God has led us thus far, then is He going to stop now? He hasn't stopped leading me thus far and let's face it, I have tried His patience! God is our stone of help, our Ebenezer. Raise your Ebenezer--your monument to God's grace that has brought you this far.

You see that is the ultimate struggle man faces when it comes to our relationship with God. We do not accept that His grace truly is more than enough--and though our hearts desire to be one with God, it is our inability to accept His grace that causes us to wander. That feeling of unworthiness is what really moves us away from God. This undeserving feeling takes on many forms--pride, desire for acceptance by the world, temptation... We are constantly seeking quick fixes for the God-chasm in our lives. We don't feel worthy of His unconditional love and acceptance so we look outside of Him to find it. And when the world fails us, it only reinforces our feeling of unworthiness. It's a catch-22. The only way to break it? To accept that we are not worthy but that "He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood."

Oh Robert Robinson--I doubt when you wrote Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing you ever imagined that I would need those stalwart words today to remind me that God is enough--even when I am a pitiful chooser. (Which sort of rhymes with pitiful loser… Same, same, right?)

PS The link is to a version of the song by Mumford and Sons... Excellent version!