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I am going to try and start blogging more on here. I usually collaborate and help Traci with the blogs that we post, but she is usually the one that does most of the work and deserves most of the credit.

What do you believe? I mean really believe?

Take a couple of moments and think about that. What would your reply be to that question?
 
 

Would you immediately start grasping for labels or telling about someone’s belief system that you agree with, or have you developed and honed your own system of beliefs?

That was a question that we were asked constantly as we traveled around the world on the Race, and we would also ask all kinds of people that same question to try and open up a dialogue on faith. I came to find out that it was a question that I had rarely considered in a deep way or in a serious light. In the past, it was always much easier for me to select a popular belief system or a doctrine that lined up with what I thought at that moment and attach it to myself without really considering how that shaped me.

I think that most of us would agree that our beliefs are what shape us and our lives. They are the things that drive all of our decisions, mold all of our relationships, and focus what we pursue with our time, money, and energy. However, I am not sure how many of us have really examined the beliefs that we profess or understand what a profound impact each belief has on our life.

How did you define your belief system earlier? Did you say Christian, or if that has too negative a connotation for you, Christ follower? I know that most of us hope to live a life in the image of Christ and aligned with the principles of the Bible, but can you honestly say that perfectly defines your belief system to someone or is that just the easy answer? What about when you disagree with someone else that labels themselves as Christ follower? The next step then is to start to try and align yourself with specific labels and claim to be Pentecostal, Baptist, Reformed, Presbyterian, Calvinist, Arminianist, or Premillennialist. I do not believe that more specific labels are necessarily the answer either. Far too often those labels become wrapped up in our identity to a level that we have to stand our ground, defend our system at all costs, and eventually separate ourselves from all other groups.
 
Photo Credit: Snorg Tees

As I continue to grow and learn, I have to come to see that my beliefs do not fit into any type of system. They do not match up well across the board, and when I try to place more and more belief systems together it always seems to fall apart. I have started to really try to examine the boxes that I have placed myself in, and I am slowly trying to take the labels off one by one. I have learned that your beliefs, whether in the systems of this world or the theological beliefs that you hold, are so intricate and personal that I find it almost impossible to see how even two people could have the same set of beliefs.

I know and completely agree that there are core, fundamental beliefs in Christianity that we should all absolutely ascribe to, and I am in no way trying to tout universalism, but I also know that there are many fringe beliefs that people need to discover and decide for themselves that are not going to all line up. That is where our incredibly personal God is going to take you on an incredibly personal journey to shape you into exactly the person that He created you to be with exactly the beliefs that He created you to have. I think that we need start finding and defining our own beliefs and to start giving grace to others to find theirs. We need to stop drawing lines and separating people into boxes, and instead start helping people to find the fundamental truths and then setting them free to discover the rest.

Please do not hear me saying that we should not teach the whole truth or that we should not have strong convictions about what we believe. I think strong convictions and actions based on those convictions are one the most crucial aspects of the life that we are called to live. I would ask you though are your strong convictions based on what you have to discovered to be true and believe or are they just formed by the groups that you decided to associate yourself with. Are those beliefs and convictions being dictated by a doctrine or denominational policy or are they being formed by your relationship with God and lined up with the Scriptures?

I would challenge you to take some time this week and really consider what you believe and what you confess to believe. Do you actually have any idea what you believe or do you just follow the crowd from popular belief system to popular belief system? Do your beliefs line up with Scripture?  Do you actually line up with the labels and the boxes that you define yourself by or do you need to reconsider who you are signing up with and start setting your own course?

These are all questions that I am still asking myself and trying to answer honestly. I have spent a lot of time over this past year and a half reexamining, and often examining for the first time, what my beliefs are about various issues that I allowed to be dictated by the theology, doctrine, and teaching of others, which is not always a negative thing. I have simply been trying to lay my beliefs against Scripture to see how they line up and then adjusting them accordingly. I am slowly getting to the point of knowing that I am standing on solid ground instead of allowing myself to be swayed by every new wind that blows by, and I would encourage you to do the same.
 
Photo Credit: Fresh Space
 
Please let me know if you agree or disagree with this? Did this affect you any way or is this old news to you? I would love some feedback on the journey that you are taking!