things people need to stop saying: "it doesn't matter"

I almost titled this post "Things Christians Need to Stop Saying," but then it occurred to me that if you're saying these things, you might not really be a Christian (a "little Christ"). Maybe you just claimed the title because your parents or your church or your nation handed it to you. Obviously I'm not qualified to make that judgment call, but in my experience, it's difficult to personally encounter the Living God and say anything like this:

"Whether you believe in God, Source, the Universe, or whatever you want to call it - it doesn't matter."

But I hear it all. the. time. Most often (tragically) from professing Christians in the public square.

And it's just a lie.

Because IT DOES matter.

When we start saying "it doesn't matter," we communicate to a watching world that our faith is insignificant.

That our God is comparable to any other god.

That all that really matters is that you're happy with yourself and your life.

It feels good, it evades conflict, it makes us popular. It keeps us from being lumped with "those Christians" who are out there making people uncomfortable with their faith. And it leaves all the important questions unanswered.

People are asking, "What is the meaning of life?" Well, apparently it doesn't matter, as long as you're happy.

People are asking, "Why is there suffering in the world?" Well, apparently it doesn't matter, as long as it's not happening to you.

People are asking, "Who is God?" Well, apparently it doesn't matter, as long as everybody gets along.

Except that IT DOES matter.

Christians, our faith is not insignificant. It has a history written in the blood of martyrs, and bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. The Son of God Himself suffered to give us an eternal hope (1 Peter 1:1-5). Men and women laid down their lives to send the message of the Scriptures forward through generations to us, not so we could "be happy" but so that we could be set free (Hebrews 11:35-12:2).

Christians, our God is not like any other god. His name is "I AM" - the Existing One (Exodus 3:14-15). He is the beginning of what has no beginning, and the end of what has no end. His character is clearly defined in the Bible and there is absolutely no question as to His identity. There is no "Source" or "Universe" or "whatever you want to call it." There is only God, YHWH, the Holy One of Israel.

Christians, it does you and your fellow man no good to have a happy, conflict-free cameo appearance on earth if your eternal existence is not secured (Matthew 16:26). If the identity of our God is clear, so is the identity of every person on earth - they are either His followers or His enemies.

That's all that matters.

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I know you are afraid. You're afraid of being mocked, judged, or laughed at. You're afraid of the debate - afraid you don't actually know enough to hold your own. You're afraid of being one of "those Christians," or of seeming too "judgy," or of not representing Christ's love well.

But your faith is incredibly significant.

Your God is completely unlike any other god.

And there is nothing so unloving as lulling the lost into a sense of peace and safety when the spiritual war is so real, and the end so imminent.

Jesus said, "Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three" (Luke 12:51-52).

That's what truth does - it divides. It draws a line between those who believe and those who don't, between what is right and what is wrong, between the True God and the Father of Lies. And that's okay, because it matters.

Think of it: the entire known world and the trajectory of human history were changed by a few apostles who were ready to (and did) sacrifice their lives in order to say, "This is the truth." They didn't live long enough to see the fullness of that change, but they trusted God to see it through (and He has). What might our communities look like years or decades or generations from now if we were willing to set aside some of our personal comforts in order to change our dialogue from "God, Source, Universe, it doesn't matter" to "This is the truth, and it matters"?